Lost and Found
by Taylor King
Summary: Robin has left Marian for the final time….but when he goes to Regina's house to tell her, she's gone. What has happened, who has her…and what will happen when he finds her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

 **Disclaimer: This story contains adult themes including-violence, torture, implied rape and other adult/mature events. If you cannot handle these themes, please do not read this story as the first 6 chapters will be heavy with these types of things. I am not going into heavy detail with any of these as I don't want these themes to be the entire point of the story and my goal isn't to see how much people can be upset. If you cannot handle the average episode of "Law and Order SVU" or "Criminal Minds" this story is probably not for you.**

Robin was trying. Marian was unfrozen, Roland was happy, and he was simply trying.

What he genuinely wanted to do-but could not bring himself to say-was that he wanted to leave to be with Regina. It was one of those decisions in life where one convinces themselves that they're still thinking it over, that they haven't made a "real" decision yet, but in honesty: they know exactly what they're going to do.

None of those things stopped him from trying. He took Marian and Roland for walks in town and in the forest. He sat and laughed with Marian in the evenings, and he had managed meaningless sex with her precisely once.

After two days, he was exhausted. Marian was not Regina. And he did not want her the way he wanted Regina. He was beginning to think he was no longer being noble. Was leading someone to believe that you still loved and wanted them truly honoring them? Was it honoring your wedding vows? He thought not.

It was late in the evening when Marian joined him at the fire he'd settled himself beside in the darkness. He didn't want to talk to her, he didn't want to go to bed with her…he just wanted to be left alone. To think. To think about how to tell Marian he didn't love her anymore….about how he loved the woman who had killed her in a past world. About how he'd been having sex with that particular woman while she was frozen.

No, nobility was definitely out the window now.

"You're quiet." Marian told him as she settled herself across from him.

"Just tired tonight," Robin smiled over at her. Saying he was tired may kill the potential of sex in a few hours. He couldn't do it. The sex with Regina was just…better. He realized now that the sex with Marian had been lacking before. Maybe, truly, all this talk about them being soul mates was true-because the connection with Regina was like nothing he had ever felt with Marian.

"Robin, stop." Marian looked through the flames at him. "Just stop."

"Stop what?" Robin asked, feeling the tension rise in him.

"Stop pretending that you aren't in love with Regina." Marian sighed the words, and Robin saw the sadness on her face.

"Am I really that obvious?" He felt horribly guilty, but relief was tugging at the back of his nerves.

"Yes," Marian whispered. "Everyone knows. You can't keep doing this to yourself."

Now that surprised him. Was his wife really sitting here telling him he couldn't put himself through the heartache of being away from his true love? That seemed a bit farfetched.

"You love her-and she loves you." There was acceptance in Marian's voice. Her tone was firm and solid. There were no tears. She'd thought this out. "You should go to her. You should be together."

"But Marian-." He stopped to compose himself. Hundreds of emotions were flooding his heart right now, and he had to stop himself to think carefully. "You and I-."

"We had something…years ago." Now Marian looked down at her lap. "But…too many things happened. What we had…we lost."

"You were dead." Robin leaned forward. "Marian, I never would have…. Not if you had been alive."

"I know." She met his eyes in the firelight. "I know that you wouldn't have. But what's happened…happened. You can't go on pretending to love me. We're not doing Roland any good being raised by two parents who don't love each other."

"I'd been worrying about that," Robin admitted. "I don't want to hurt him."

"He loves us. And he loves Regina. If nothing else, you did manage to fall in love with a woman who adores our son."

"What will we tell him?" Robin wondered out loud. "What will we do?"

"We'll think of something." Marian assured him. "I don't want you to be with me out of obligation. If you want Regina, I'll step aside."

"I hate asking you to-."

"You're not asking me." The firm, solid tone again. "I'm telling you what I don't want in my life. I want a husband who loves me. Not keeping me because he feels he has to while he truly wants a woman he'll be longing for every time he sees her in town."

Robin finally looked over at Marian again. There was something he needed to tell her.

"Tinkerbelle-the fairy-told Regina years ago that her true love was a man…with a tattoo." He held up his arm. "A lion tattoo. Pixie dust said we were destined to be together. That we were soul mates."

That didn't exactly seem to be the words Marian had been dying to hear, as she turned her head to look out into the darkened forest. Robin frowned sadly, fighting back tears that pricked his eyes as he moved over to embrace her.

"I'm sorry." He breathed the words into her hair.

"Go to her." Marian held him with one arm around him, the other hand resting on his arm. "Go to her. Stop putting yourselves through this. Tell her you love her…and you want to be with her."

As guilty as he felt, those were the words Robin wanted desperately to hear. And there was nowhere else he wanted to be than with Regina. He kissed her cheek, rose to his feet, and disappeared into the darkness.

****Scene****

Robin was surprised to find Regina's house dark. It was only 10:30, and he knew she was always up until at least midnight. He wondered what had happened tonight that had sent her to bed so early. He knocked and rang the doorbell, but got no answer. That also surprised him. She wasn't such a sound sleeper that she would have been sleeping through a knock AND the bell.

He called her cell phone. Straight to voicemail every time. What on earth was going on with her?

It would not be unlike Regina to be sitting in the house ignoring everyone-including him.

Robin reached to the ground and gathered up a handful of pebbles. He began throwing them one at a time to her bedroom window.

"Regina!" He called up to it. "Come on! We need to talk! This is important." He paused, waiting to see if any lights came on. When none did, he added: "it's good news! I promise!"

Still nothing.

Robin really wished he had a key to her house.

Sighing, he tried the front door just for the heck of it. Locked as he suspected. He could have picked it now, but he didn't want anyone disturbing his gallant entry, so he trekked around to the back of the house to try the back door.

As he reached for the door, dread settled deep into his stomach. The glass pane over the knob was broken. And as he pushed the door, Robin realized that it wasn't locked, it opened on its own.

Something bad had happened. Something very, very bad.

"Regina?" Robin called as he pushed the door open. Stepping inside, he heard the glass crunch under his boots. He reached to his right and felt the wall for the light switch. He flipped it on, illuminating the room.

The kitchen looked untouched, except for the fact that someone had clearly broken in. Robin decided to try something. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and redialed Regina's number. From in the house, he heard the sound of the phone ringing.

"Damn." He had hoped that she wasn't home…that she had been out when someone had broken in. But if the phone was here…and she was not….

Robin took a deep breath, let it out slowly. He knew two things: if Regina was in the house she was unable to call for help-due to one reason or the other. Or she was not in the house…and that could potentially be just as bad.

He made his way through the dining room, turning on lights along the way. Nothing. But the living room was a different story.

A small lamp beside one of the tables had been left on. He hadn't noticed it through the heavy curtains. But it gave off just enough light to show that this room was further indication of what had gone wrong here.

The coffee table was overturned. On the floor, a china teacup was smashed. Throw pillows were strewn about in chaos Regina never allowed.

"Regina?!" Robin jogged through the cluttered room. "Regina?!"

He froze when he reached the front hallway. The worst of it was here.

Glass from broken decorations and vases were smashed onto the floor. A hallway table was on its side. On the wall, the mirror was shattered. And in the center of the shattered glass was…..

Blood. Someone had bled a decent amount.

It was impossible. No one could have gotten Regina out of the house in a fight like this. Not with Regina's magic. She would have fought back. She would have defended herself. And with the power of her magic-she would have won.

Unless she was fighting someone with magic much more powerful than hers.

But given the looks of the house, Robin knew that her magic had failed her. And that had caused something terrible to happen to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I apologize for the flood of chapters in the next couple of days…but this story is up to about 9 on another site, so I thought I'd get you all caught up here. Some of you may be familiar with this story from when it was originally posted.**

For the first night, he kept his captive in a partially open empty chest freezer. She was bound hand and foot, with a blindfold over her eyes and a gag over her lips. He would fully open the lid and lean against the freezer to look at her. Surprisingly enough, she struggled little. He was expecting more. Then he would carefully close the freezer so it was still open just a bit. He didn't want her to suffocate.

On the second day, he opened the lid fully and lifted her out. This time, she struggled. She didn't like him touching her. Pity.

In the center of the dark, cold basement was a cage that ran floor to ceiling even though it was only about 4' x 4' wide. Carefully, he laid her on the floor with her back and bound hands leaning against the bars.

He left the cage and moved behind her from the outside. Withdrawing a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, he clicked one cuff onto her right wrist just above the restraints that were already there. Then he wrapped the small amount of chain around the bar before connecting it to her left wrist. That limited her motion further.

Smiling, he got up. Taking the key ring from beside the door, he locked the cage before rehanging the keys. Strolling up the stairs, he was pleased at how well his plan was working.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"I desire nothing more from you, Sidney." The Snow Queen smiled at him. "You have done you work, and that is that. And I shall give you your freedom in return."_

 _She opened the door, waiting for him to leave. But Sidney Glass hung back._

 _"If it pleases you, your Majesty. I'd like to discuss something with you."_

 _"Oh?" The blonde's blue eyes widened as she looked up at him. "What can I do for you?"_

 _Sidney's face darkened._

 _"I am tried of being used by the Evil Queen."_

 _"Ahh," Ingrid nodded. "I do know your history with her. You wish some help in….dealing with her?"_

 _"I wish to destroy her." Sidney growled. His face was set in a mask of anger at the woman. He had been framed for murder, imprisoned, and victimized countless times by the horrible Queen. He wanted nothing more than to bring her to her knees…to show her what it was like to be trapped. He wanted her to see the terror she had inflicted on others by living it._

 _"Destroying a woman like her is quite difficult." Ingrid smiled._

 _"Indeed." Sidney agreed. "Which is why I bring it to you. I need your help to take her…fully."_

 _Ingrid crossed the room to a dressing table. From it she withdrew a small vial which contained a black smoke._

 _"I can give you two things," she turned to face him as she held out the vial, "but I will warn you now if you fail: she will overpower you-and probably kill you. You must act fast."_

 _"I will do just what you say." Sidney hated the Queen so much he was well prepared to take the risk._

 _"Take this vial." She laid it in his hand. "You must get yourself into the same room as her. Open this vial. The smoke inside will counter her magic as soon as it is inhaled. But it does not last long. You will only have about an hour to get her under your control-and to some place that will stop her magic."_

 _"Controlling her will not be a problem." The Queen was a small woman. Overthrowing her physically would not be a problem once she was powerless. But finding her a place where her magic didn't work? That was more difficult._

 _"Listen to what I said," Ingrid spoke to him as though she were speaking to a child, "you must get her somewhere that blocks her magic. The ice cream parlor."_

 _"Yes?" He was curious now. "How does that work?"_

 _Ingrid shrugged._

 _"I didn't want to get into battles with others in my shop….so I put a spell on it. Get her into the shop…preferably the basement as it is the best to hold someone you don't wish to be found…and she'll be unable to fight you. But make sure she is well restrained. She is smart….not a woman to be underestimated. She'll fight you."_

 _"I'm well aware of the type of woman she is." Sidney slipped the vial into his pocket. "Thank you, your Majesty."_

 _"Of course. Good luck to you, Mr. Glass."_

 _Sidney left through the open door, mentally preparing for what he was going to do._

 _****Scene****_

She was gone. Not in the house…not upstairs, not downstairs. Robin had checked. Her car remained, as did her keys, and her purse. There was no further blood in the other rooms of the house. That made him feel better. Regina hadn't lost enough blood to be dead. So somewhere, she was still alive. At least she had been when she left the house.

After his final pass through the house, he stood in the overturned foyer and withdrew his phone.

"Hello?" Snow was curious to be woken so late.

"It's Robin." He was pacing. He couldn't stand still. Not while she was missing. Not while Regina was somewhere unknown with someone who obviously wanted to harm her. "Is Regina there?"

"Robin? No, she's not here. Why do you ask? She should be at home."

"She's not." Robin bit his lip with apprehension. "Tell David and Emma to come. It's urgent.

When the two showed up a few minutes later, Robin met them on the sidewalk and ushered them around to the back of the house. He showed them the broken door, the disarrayed living room, and finally the bloody front hall. He heard their collective gasps.

Emma took a step forward and knelt by the overturned table. She touched the wood with two fingers and held up her hand. Blood now coated her finger tips.

"Whoever hit the mirror pulled back bleeding." Emma pointed to a few drops on the floor. "And then either stopped, or was put into some position where the blood didn't fall on the floor anymore."

"Whoever?" Robin echoed.

"We don't know this blood is Regina's." Emma stood up. "It could be from whoever she was fighting with."

Perhaps he was being pessimistic, but Robin hadn't thought of that. He had assumed the blood was Regina's-and that she was hurt. The idea that it belonged to her attacker made him feel better.

"But why didn't she use magic?" David asked curiously. "I cannot imagine Regina sitting back and letting someone get their hands on her."

"Neither can I," Robin looked over at him. "That's why this doesn't make any sense."

"Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?" Emma looked from man to man.

"A year ago, I would have said anyone in town." David shrugged. "But Regina's been so helpful lately….everyone's been a lot more accepting. There's only one person in town strong enough to overpower her magically."

"Rumplestiltskin." Robin whispered.

"It wasn't him." Emma sounded firm. When the two gave her an odd look, she shrugged. "It's a long story…but Belle forced him over the town line with the dagger the other night. He's gone. And he went alone."

As much as this perplexed Robin, he wasn't in the mood to debate Belle and Gold's marital issues.

"So when was the last time anyone saw her?" He hadn't seen Regina in almost three days-not since she'd return Marian's heart. But he'd been avoiding town as well.

"I saw her night before last at Granny's," Emma thought, "but not since then."

"So she could have been gone for almost two days and no one noticed?!" Robin was horrified that a town full of people who pretended to be so decent and kind could have not noticed that one of their most prominent citizens hadn't been seen in days.

"Hey, sometimes Regina disappears. It's been happening a lot lately." Now Robin didn't really like Emma's accusing tone.

"That being said," David glanced hesitantly at Robin, "are we sure Regina isn't behind this? That she didn't stage this scene so she could disappear and be left alone?"

All three were silent. They all knew Regina had good reason to do just that.

"She'd be in her vault if she was." Robin muttered sadly.

"She knows it's the first place we'd look." Emma sighed.

"But we still have to check." Robin started for the door.

Had Regina really gone out of her way to stage her own kidnapping? Robin truly, truly hoped not. He did not want to believe that her life had saddened her so greatly that she had resorted to this type of disappearance.

Regina was smart enough to do this, Robin knew that. But the sense of dread in his heart told him that what he feared was real. And that somewhere in town, Regina was in true danger. 


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you all for the awesome feedback on my last chapter. This chapter gets a bit more intense, so if torture bothers you….don't read the last section of the chapter. But it's not graphic, I promise.**

 **For anyone reading my other stories, I'm sorry to say they're suffering from what I'm calling "Potential Move Induced Stress." So hopefully I'll get myself together soon.**

Regina was not in her vault. The vault had clearly not been occupied in some time.

Furthermore, no one else in town had seen her. As dawn broke, David, Emma and Robin all accepted the fact that Regina was not simply sitting somewhere in depression to nurse a broken heart.

"But who could have taken her?" David asked as the three sat over coffee in Granny's. "Everyone else in town is accounted for. Someone would have had to have disappeared to take her, and to keep her."

"This town isn't that big." Emma sounded as frustrated as Robin felt. "If she's in town, she's easy to find…..once we know where."

"That is the key, isn't it?" Robin muttered as he sipped his coffee.

"Hey," Emma looked at him, "we're going to find her. Wherever she is….we're going to find her." Robin was silent for a few minutes before he finally spoke.

"I came over last night to tell her I left Marian. Marian and I….we spoke. She told me if I was in love with Regina….to go to her. So I went to the house to tell her I'd left Marian and we could finally be together."

The table fell into silence for a few beats. Finally, Emma broke it.

"Regina's going to be thrilled. When we find her."

***Scene***

Sidney unlocked the door of the cage and entered slowly. He knelt down on the floor in front of his captive and removed the high-heeled stilettos she was wearing. He didn't want her using those as a weapon against him.

Moving up, he pulled the blindfold from her eyes. The dark orbs were filled with a combination of fear…and anger. She glared darkly at him. Sidney smiled.

"I will take off the gag, but you will not scream. Do you understand me?"

She nodded. Sidney moved closer to her. Carefully, he untied the gag and pulled it away.

"What are you doing?" Regina asked him. Sidney made a point of folding the gag and tucking it into his pocket.

"Let's just say I'm tired of being _your_ prisoner. I think it's time we reversed that…don't you?"

"Let me go." Regina growled. Sidney shrugged.

"Maybe. I haven't decided if I want to kill you….or leave you alive in the woods. But I haven't had my fun with you yet."

He saw another flicker of fear across her face. That made him smile. He was calling the shots now, not the Evil Queen.

"This room is magic proof. You can't free yourself with it, or use it against me. It's not sound proof, but I doubt screaming will do you much good down here. And I'm not in the mood to hear your screams-unless of course I'm creating them."

Regina pulled back further against the bars as he stroked her cheek. She was even more disgusted by him. She had never been enticed by the idea of touching him, or being close to him, but this was far more filthy.

Her head ached where it had hit the mirror. Given that she'd been drifting in and out of consciousness for some time now, she suspected she had a concussion. She was dizzy, and tired, and her eyes had trouble focusing. She should have been more afraid in her current predicament, but her biggest worry right now was of an untreated concussion.

"You will never get away with this." Regina assured him. And she believed that. But would he get away with it while she was still alive?

Sidney pulled back, untying the rope around her ankles.

"You're not going anywhere." He smiled. "No need to over restrain…yet."

Regina didn't not like the sound of that. At all.

"I'll be back." He pushed the door closed and locked it. "Get some rest. You'll need your strength later."

***Scene***

Grumpy let himself into the sheriff's station. He was followed closely by Emma, who looked as grim as he did.

"Nothing?" Robin stopped pacing the floor to look back at him. Emma shook her head.

"We questioned everyone in town. No one has seen Regina since she left Granny's the other night. Someone either grabbed her that night at home, or the following day."

"How can you guess that?" Robin was trying not to be frustrated. The others were trying to help, he knew that. But he just wanted to get to Regina soon. He did not like the nagging sense of dread that was tugging at him. Was this the connection soul mates had? When one was in trouble, did the other feel it?

"Her bed is made." Emma explained as she sat down at the desk. "So she either got home and didn't get to sleep in it, or she got up the next morning and made it before they got in."

"How is this even happening?" Robin slumped sadly against the wall. "How can we not find her?"

"Robin, we're going to." Emma assured him firmly. "Someone in this town knows where Regina is."

"But that's the thing," Leroy sat down at one of the desks, "you yourself said no one was lying. Everyone seemed genuinely confused-and concerned. No one could be lying _that_ well." Robin shot Emma a look.

"He's right," the blonde admitted, "it's the most bizarre thing I've seen. No one can get into this town. And Regina wouldn't have crossed the town line. Not without Henry."

"What if she went into the woods?" David offered. "Maybe to get some air, try to clear her head, and she got hurt? We haven't checked there."

"And before she went into the woods-where she got hurt-she trashed her house to look like she was abducted?" Robin glared at him. David shook his head.

"It could be a coincidence. Maybe someone went into the house while she was out to steal something. Regina's got valuable stuff in there. Someone might have wanted some of it. But they can't find what they're looking for, so they get angry and break things."

"I don't believe it." Robin muttered, crossing his arms over his chest as he resumed his pacing.

"It's worth checking the woods," Leroy got up, "I'll get some of the dwarves and we'll go search."

"Stop at the camp and get some of my men to help you." Robin advised. Leroy nodded and headed out of the station. Emma watched him before she turned back to the two men.

"Who in this town hates Regina enough to not forgive her, and might want to hurt her?" She turned to her father. David shook his head.

"Regina's not short on enemies. Hell, there's plenty of people who would say you or I would do it."

"Well we can't blame the Snow Queen." Emma leaned back in her chair. "She's long gone."

"Maybe some sort of residual spell?" Robin was grasping at straws. "Did she leave something behind like the Witch's flying monkeys?"

"Not that I know of…." Emma was thinking. "I think Ingrid was really only out to create her own family. I think she's gone-gone."

"What about you?" David leaned towards her. "Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Regina? You two have been talking a lot." Emma frowned. Finally, she shook her head.

"No. I mean, _a lot_ of people are still scared of Regina, but no one really hates her. Robin, what about one of your men? Could one of them have made her disappear so you wouldn't leave Marian?"

"No." Robin said firmly. And he meant it. "None of them would _ever_ do such a thing."

"Sometimes people we think we know do strange things," Emma offered gently. Robin shook his head.

"There's something else: ever since Regina returned Marian's heart, the three of us have been in camp. All of the men have been there as well. No one's slipped away. Unless they did it late at night. Which, with your theory, didn't happen because Regina wasn't sleeping."

"True," Emma admitted. "But I didn't talk to your men. I'd still feel more comfortable if I did."

"By all means, do it." Robin told her. "There has to be someone. Someone we're not thinking of. Someone Regina hurt enough to make her furious with them."

"Sidney." Emma suddenly answered. The word came to her, and she was surprised she hadn't thought of it before.

"Who?" Robin asked.

"The Mirror." David's face looked like a light blub had just gone on.

"I'm sorry, who is this character?" Robin thought the two had suddenly gone crazy.

"Sidney Glass was Regina's Magic Mirror in the Enchanted Forest." David explained.

"Here he was kind of her minion." Emma jumped in. "Even took the fall for her a couple of times."

"But he was locked away," David turned to face Emma, "no one's seen him in ages." Emma was silent.

"What do you know?" Robin pressed suspiciously.

"Regina may have….decided….that she….needed him." Emma looked at the desk. "And she may have freed him….and then put him back in the mirror for some….help."

"What kind of help?" Robin didn't like how Emma was acting. He was getting further annoyed. If she knew something-.

"She was going to use him to help her go back in time and kill Marian so I couldn't bring her back." Emma rushed the words as she finally looked back at Robin. "But she stopped herself when Marian was frozen. She never thought of it again….but Sidney betrayed her and helped the Snow Queen."

"Regardless," David raised his hand, "I never pegged Sidney as smart enough, or having enough ambition, to be a kidnapper."

Robin couldn't fault Regina for a slip in her nature. She'd been a villain for so long, he understood it was her natural resort. And besides, all of that had been negated by her actual actions. He wondered if he should have cared more, but he figured they'd discuss it later. Later-when she was safely in his arms and he was not letting go of her once again in his entire life.

"He might have had his fill of her actions." Robin finally spoke. "This time may have been the breaking straw. And if a person is pushed too far, who knows what they'll do."

"He's right." Emma agreed.

"I'm sorry," David pushed himself out of his chair, "but I just can't see Sidney like that. I just can't imagine him switching to kidnapping. It's too complicated a plan to orchestrate."

"He's our only real lead." Robin realized by the tone in his voice that he was pleading. "We have to find out for sure."

"Can you take me to his place?" Emma got up and moved to her father. "We'll see if he's there."

"And if he's not there, we'll just break in the door." Robin muttered.

****Scene****

Sidney entered the basement, a bag in one hand. It was lit by one yellowish blub on the far wall. He could see his prize perfectly. His mind played through the first time he'd seen her. It was glorious to finally have her for his own-even if he had taken a few more serious steps than the King himself.

Regina opened her eyes and looked over at him. She was undeniably uncomfortable. He had no idea when she'd last eaten. He wanted her to have a small amount of strength. Completing his plans with a lethargic body would be no fun.

Not that what he was about to do wouldn't wake her up.

Entering the cage, he knelt in front of her. He laid the bag on the floor beside him. Removing a bottle of cola, he opened it and held it to her lips.

"Drink."

"No." Regina turned her head away. Sidney shook his head at her. He was serious about this-all of this. More serious than he'd been in his entire life. He would force her to drink the bottle if need be.

"You need the fluids. And the calories. And the sugar. Drink. Now." He brought the bottle back to her lips. Regina glared at him. She pulled her head back as far as the bars would let her.

With his free hand, Sidney wrapped one hand around her neck. He pressed it against the bars, squeezing. He watched her begin to choke and struggle for air.

"Do I choke until you're unconscious, or will you drink nicely?" Sidney kept squeezing. "After that head injury, losing oxygen probably isn't a good idea. Is it worth it for a few swigs of soda?"

Regina gave him a faint nod. Satisfied, Sidney let go of her. He brought the bottle back to her lips, and this time she drank. He gave her about a quarter of the bottle before he took it away and put the lid back on.

"Don't want you to have too much," He smiled, pulling locks of dark hair over her shoulders. "Too much sugar is bad for your teeth."

He put the bottle away and selected a plastic case from inside of the bag. Getting up, he moved to the outside of the cage.

"Tell me something," he stroked her hair through the bars, "do you ever think of the pain you caused others?"

"Of course."

"I mean really think about it." Sidney rubbed her shoulders gently. "Not just when it pertains to something you want."

He leaned in and kissed her shoulder through the space. Regina tried hard not to flinch. Fortunately he couldn't see her face.

"You were prepared to cause pain again just to get your thief back." Sidney leaned in close to her ear. "Prepared to go back in time to do it all over again-break up a family. And even then you didn't stop. How long were you fucking him behind his wife's back? Did you think no one would notice?"

He put the case on the floor and opened it. Took one small silver item into his hand.

"No one cares where you are," he breathed against her ear, "no one is looking for you. And still no one will care when they find your body in the forest. So whatever thought you have of your thief coming, it won't happen."

Reaching down, Sidney took one of her cuffed hands. He spread the fingers out, holding it firmly in his larger hand. Carefully, he positioned the straight pin against her finger.

"This is really going to hurt."

 **A/N: Sidney's going to get worse before he gets better…..**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: warning….implied sexual assault in this chapter. Not graphic**

Sidney Glass was not at home, and Robin did just as he said-he broke in the door.

The apartment was spotless to be occupied by a single man. Everything was in order. There weren't even any dishes in the sink or in the dishwasher. Robin thought he smelled cleaning products.

"He's cleaned in here recently." Emma apparently noticed the same. "That's not a good sign." She watched Robin tighten his hands into fists. "Look around. See if you find evidence he had someone here against their will-or any sign of Regina."

The apartment was not large. It did not take them long to go through it. They found nothing. No blood, no hair, no women's clothing or items, nothing.

"She hasn't been here." Robin returned to the silent living room. "If he's got her, he's got her somewhere else."

"Yeah, but where?" Emma asked. And Robin had no answer to that.

***Scene****

Sidney finished pushing the last pin beneath Regina's nail and listened to her gasping cry. She'd full on screamed at first, but when she realized he wasn't stopping they'd eventually flattened to weak, high-pitched cries.

He was pleased. Not only was she in complete agony, but he'd now opened her to who knew how many infections. His fun for the evening wasn't over, but he'd give her a small break.

"Don't squirm too much." He told her. "You'll push those pins in deeper. I'll be back to get them out in a little while. Relax. Don't do anything you'll regret."

He took a moment to lock the cell door before disappearing upstairs.

It wasn't until she'd heard the upstairs door close that Regina let her tears fall. Her head hurt, her throat hurt, but her hands actually weren't that bad if she didn't move them.

However, once infection set in they'd hurt a lot. Now she had an untreated concussion, and a risk for infection.

There was nothing to make her feel better. This could always get worse. Much worse.

And it was about to.

****Scene***

"Sidney couldn't have pulled any of this off without help." They were back in the sheriff's station. Robin was anxious because another night was coming on. Regina had been gone for three nights. If she wasn't dead, he was sure she was hurt.

But he didn't feel she was dead. If someone had given him evidence that was not her body to try and convince him she was dead, he never would have believed it. Inside of him, he knew Regina was alive. But he needed to get to her before that feeling died away.

"No, he couldn't have." David had gone home for a little while to help Snow with the baby, but he was back now. Snow had been adamant about his returning to help with the search. She wanted her stepmother located immediately.

"Could you feel it?" Robin looked at him. "Could you feel it if Snow was missing? Would you know if she was in danger?"

"Absolutely." David responded without hesitation. "Robin, we are going to find her. But I can't imagine what you're going through right now."

Robin stared down at his hands. A small part of him felt ashamed. He still had a wife.

But nothing would stop his love for Regina-he'd seen that to be true. He was going to have a life with her. This was just a small roadblock.

"Who would have helped him?" Robin looked up. Emma was sitting by herself. He had no idea if she was listening, or if she was simply lost in her own thoughts.

"Gold." David suggested. "He could have gone to him before everything went down."

"No," Emma apparently was listening, "Gold was too caught up in himself. He's generally not that interested in Regina. It had to be someone else."

"But who?!" Robin exclaimed in frustration.

"Ingrid," Emma looked over at him, "she had reason to help Sidney. He helped her, she gave him something in return. And she didn't give a damn when he did it because Regina was just a casualty to her. She needed her gone anyway for her plan to work. So if Sidney killed her, big deal.

"But Ingrid's dead," David brought up the obvious point, "so wouldn't any magic she had used be broken with that?"

"I guess it depends on what kind she used." Emma mused.

****Scene****

Sidney had removed the pins from her nail beds. Now her fingers hurt. Regina had read all the hazards about infections from manicures. She knew how quickly they could get infected-and she was sure they already were.

She felt nauseous, but she wasn't sure if that was hunger or injury. And she was cold-freezing cold. Her entire body ached, and now she was beginning to believe that things couldn't get much worse.

She was very, very wrong.

Sidney entered the cell. She didn't bother to look up. She was concentrating now how much blood her arms must have lost, and if they'd ever fully get their circulation back.

"How are you feeling?" Sidney was kneeling before her. She felt his hand on her thigh, and that she did not like.

"Just kill me." Regina finally said it. "You know you want to."

"Oh, I don't actually." She felt his hand sliding higher on her thigh. Her eyes shot up. His hands slipped under her mid thigh blue dress, pushing it higher on her legs.

"Now," Sidney reached down, "I'm in no mood to listen to pleas of stopping. So open your mouth."

He didn't give her much option as he shoved the cloth into her mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: more "implications"**

They had spent the entire night combing through what remained of Ingrid's ice hideout. Now it was dawn of the second day of their search.

Robin was exhausted, and felt no closer to finding Regina than he had 24 hours ago.

They'd hoped to find evidence of Sidney, Regina, or the magic Ingrid had used at the icy location. There was nothing. In fact, most of it was gone.

"How can her magic be remaining?" Robin had downed half of his coffee in one gulp. Half of the town was gathered around the tables in Granny's. Regina would have been surprised to see how many people were worried about her. "If you're seriously thinking that her magic is somehow still helping Sidney, how is it still remaining?"

"Ingrid had strong magic. And there's all kinds of magic." Emma looked as exhausted as Robin felt.

"Could yours counter it?" Robin pressed.

"Probably," Emma consented. "And there's one place we haven't checked yet: the ice cream parlor." Robin started to push his chair back. "Robin wait!"

David grabbed his arm, pulling him down.

"We can't just run in there." Emma tried to calm him down. "We don't know what we're going into. If Sidney's got Regina in there, we don't want to startle him to the point that he hurts her."

"He's already hurting her!" Robin exclaimed. "He's been hurting her for days! We need to get her-now."

"Not when that might mean getting her killed." David's fingers tightened on his arm. "We're all exhausted, and we're all worried. And we're going to find Regina. But we need a plan."

****Scene****

Regina cried out as Sidney jammed the nail into her side. It was on the end of the broomstick, and the way he used it felt like she'd been kicked. Her mind played out when she'd had a tetanus shot, and couldn't remember.

"I enjoy playing with you." He knelt down on the other side of the bars so that he could look in at her. "No really, I like it. It's like watching a cat play with a mouse. You know how it will end for the mouse. Not used to being the mouse, are you?" He jammed the nail hard into her arm and Regina gasped again, breaking off into a choking sob.

"Haven't you had enough fun yet?" Sidney smiled as he stood, moving around to the door of the cage. Slowly, he unlocked the door, stepping inside.

"No, I haven't."

*****Scene****

They had made their way down the street to the ice cream parlor. Robin stood looking at the darkened windows. In one hand was his cross bow. Emma and David both had tried to convince him that he didn't need to use that-David and Emma both had a firearm. But he was not going in there without being able to defend Regina.

"She's inside." He rested his hand on the window. "She has to be. It's the only place in town."

"I agree." Emma nodded. "But we have to do this carefully."

****Scene*****

Sidney made her wait while he fixed his own clothes. Finally, he removed the gag and untied her.

Regina was cold, and tired, and sore, and miserable. His most recent actions only made her feel worse. She could feel him still inside of her, contaminating her body. Her arms and shoulders had long since gone numb.

She was worried about Henry. His mother had been gone for days. The only good thing she knew was the Emma would take good care of him. She'd protect him-no matter what. Henry had a good family…without her.

"Can we just get this over with?" Regina looked up at Sidney.

"After what we finally just did?" Sidney knelt in front of her. He stroked her cheek gently. "Of course not. I'll be ready soon for another round. Now get some rest. Wouldn't want you too exhausted for me."

****Scene****

Emma pushed open the door. The store was empty. For the moment, she heard nothing. There was no cry for help, no screams, nothing. It was too silent.

Sidney had just made his way into the main floor when he heard the door open. A quick glance into the storefront indicated what he feared-Robin Hood, Prince Charming, and the Savior.

As much as he hated to admit defeat-especially in this case-he was not getting himself killed over the Evil Queen. They could have her Majesty-if they still wanted her.

But if he was getting out of here in one piece, he had to move quickly.

Sidney lunged for the back door, threw it open and ran out into the street.

From the front of the shop, Emma heard the door slam open. She lunged for the doorway, with Robin and David a few steps behind her.

In the back of the shop, the door was open. But other than that, the room was empty except for a few boxes and discarded pieces of equipment.

To the right, a door was closed against the wall. Robin reached over and yanked it open.

The basement stairs lay before them. At the bottom, there was a faint glow of dim light.

Robin needed no encouragement. He took off down the stairs. At the bottom, he froze.

Directly in front of him was a cage that while tall, did not look wide enough to hold a human being. Even a small one-like the one it currently held.

"Regina!" He threw himself against the door.

Regina's head lifted from her shoulder. She met his eyes with shock.

"Robin?" She whispered weakly. Robin reached down, yanking the door.

"Where are the keys?" He asked gently, trying to hide the desperate urgency in his voice.

"Behind you-on the wall." Regina choked. Robin turned, spied the ring he was looking for. He began jamming keys into the lock. Fortunately, it took on the third key. It turned, and the door creaked open. Robin pushed it the rest of the way open and rushed inside, dropping down in front of Regina.

Her tears were flowing down her dirty face. There was dried blood on her forehead.

"I thought you'd never come." She sobbed, kissing him with tear-streaked lips.

"Shh," Robin kissed her lips lightly. "Let's get you out of here." He reached behind her and felt the bindings.

"Robin? Oh my god." David had come down the stairs.

"Just help me get her out of here." Robin was holding Regina against him with one arm while he felt the bonds. Metal…not rope as he'd been hoping.

David moved behind the bars. Kneeling down, he gently touched the handcuffs.

"Handcuffs. Regina, is there a key?"

"I don't know." Regina buried her face into Robin's chest. "He's never taken them off."

"Ok. We'll get them off. Emma!" David yelled.

"Sidney's not-. Oh god Regina." Emma froze at the foot of the stairs, her eyes scanning over the room.

"Outside, in the police car, are a set of bolt cutters. Go get them. Bring them down here." Emma wasted no time. She disappeared up the stairs.

Robin was stroking Regina's hair. She took deep breaths, inhaling his scent. He was so warm and comforting around her. She didn't really believe he'd come for her. But he was here now…but…

"He might come back." Regina lifted her head to look at Robin.

"If he does, I'm ready." David held the gun through the bars. "Don't worry, Regina. You're safe."

"He's right." Robin laid his forehead on hers. "We're going to get you out of here."

Emma came back downstairs, holding the bolt cutters in one hand.

"Still no sign of Sidney," she said as she dropped down onto the floor.

"Doesn't matter right now. We're leaving. Ok, put the cutters right there." David helped her position the metal against the chain holding the handcuffs. "Regina, relax as much as you can so we have as much slack as possible. We don't want to cut you."

"Lean back a little," Robin murmured, easing her back against the bars. "I'm right here. I'm not letting go."

David took the cutters. He squeezed hard, making his knuckles turn white. The chain snapped with a loud clank. Robin reached back and gently pulled Regina's hands in front of her. She winced as the blood began to return to the limbs. The pain of blood returning after that long was unbelievable. She knew this was going to hurt for a while.

"Can you stand?" Robin asked, rubbing her hands. Regina shook her head, her face contorting in the pulsing pain in her hands.

"I think I'm too weak."

"Ok." Robin stood up. Reaching down, he lifted her gently into his arm. Regina tried to put her arms around his neck, but they were still too numb and too sore. Robin tucked her into his chest as he followed Emma up the stairs.

Stepping outside, Emma opened the back door to the police cruiser so Robin could lay Regina on the backseat. He climbed in after her to immediately lift her back onto his lap.

There was no real way to examine how injured she was. He could see the bloody bruises around her wrists where the cuffs had dug in and cut her. There was clearly a cut on her head. It was coated in dried blood. Robin suspected that was what had hit the mirror.

He wrapped his arms around her. As David started the drive to the hospital, he whispered into her ear how glad he was to have found her, how worried he'd been, that she was safe now, and that everything was going to be ok.

When they finally reached the hospital, David opened the door. Robin stepped out and then reached in to lift Regina out.

Her arms were aching and tingling. She was so incredibly tired. She could barely respond as Robin carried her into the emergency room.

The second they crossed the doorway, the room went silent.


	6. Chapter 6

"What happened?" Dr. Whale gasped, moving towards them.

"Everything." Robin grumbled, holding Regina tighter against him. Whale stood beside him, turning Regina's face gently up to his.

"Regina, can you hear me ok?" She nodded. Whale's fingers searched over her face, examining the dried blood at her hairline. "Ok, let's get her into a room."

Robin followed the doctor to one of the exam rooms. Whale pulled the curtain behind them as Robin placed Regina gingerly on the bed. He settled beside her, taking her hands.

"Ok, let's see." Whale flashed a pinprick of light into her eyes. "What did you hit your head on?"

"The mirror in my entrance way." Robin frowned, Whale nodded calmly.

"Ok. Did you pass out?"

"Yes."

"More than once?"

"Yes."

"What about dizziness? Any of that?"

"Yes."

"Sounds like a concussion." Whale placed the light aside. "But we can run a quick test to be sure. Does your head hurt right now?"

"Yes, but that may be hunger as well."

"And dehydration." Whale was pushing her hair aside, examining the dried scab on her forehead. "That looks like it's healing up." He pressed on it, causing Regina to wince. Robin tightened his grip on her, giving Whale a dark look. "Doesn't feel like any glass shards got stuck in there. And I don't think you need stitches."

Regina let out a sigh of relief. Robin realized just how little he knew about medicine in this world. He truthfully had no idea what a 'concussion' was, or how you tested for it, or what it meant.

"What are you talking about?" He finally asked. Finding Regina hadn't made him any calmer. He was worried about her health now. What if there was something seriously wrong?

Whale appeared to catch his error.

"A concussion is bruising on the brain. They can be severe or mild. Regina's seems pretty mild, but I need to take an image of her brain to be sure."

"You can do that?" Robin was completely bewildered by this technology.

"I can," Whale was examining Regina's face for further cuts. He moved down to her wrists. "Ok, we need to get these off." He slid the cuffs up higher to look at the wounds beneath. "These will be fine once we get them cleaned up. And-oh my god!" He straightened her fingers on both hands. Robin saw instantly what he was looking at and gasped.

The tips of Regina's fingers were bright red. The reddest areas were the beds of her nails, which were broken up by strips of white pus beneath them.

"I wasn't going to ask, but this requires it." Whale looked at Regina.

"He put pins under the nails." Regina answered weakly. Her answer made Robin's hands tense into fists.

"I will kill him." Whale raised his hand and shook his head.

"That's not helping right now. Ok, Regina. I'm going to get these cleaned out and put you on an antibiotic for the infection-just to be sure. I'm afraid you're going to lose that manicure though."

Regina didn't even smile. Robin rubbed her arm gently, knowing how exhausted she had to be. Regina jumped. Robin realized his fingers had hit a bright red puncture wound that was surrounded with a reddish bruise.

"What is that?" Regina followed his gaze, shaking her head.

"It's from a nail."

"You know, I don't want to know." Whale sighed. "Let's just get everything cleaned out and taken care of."

"There's another on my hip." Regina told him. Whale nodded. He appeared to be thinking of something, almost debating with himself. Finally, he just asked the question.

"Regina, I have to ask….did he do anything else to you?" Robin saw the look on the doctor's face. He was looking at her in the way one did when they didn't want to mention a harsh topic.

Regina wouldn't actually validate whatever Whale was thinking….right? The thought hadn't even occurred to Robin that Sidney might have done…something…else. He waited-anxiously-for Regina to say no.

But Regina's eyes squeezed closed, and Whale nodded as if accepting her unresponsiveness.

Robin could only stare from one to the other. She could not be implying what he thought. _No one_ could have….

"Regina," he tried to keep his tone from panicking, "tell me he didn't…."

Regina's eyes opened, and she looked numbly up at Robin. Her eyes told him all he needed to know.

Robin spun to his feet, pulling away from her. He wanted to punch something-break something-anything. The idea that anyone had dared to violate her made him want to put his hand through a window. There was no question now-he _would_ kill Sidney Glass.

Regina laid a hand over her eyes. Tears began to spill down her cheeks. She could handle anything if Robin was beside her, but she had no idea how to interpret his pulling away. Would he not want her now? Now that….someone else….had dirtied her?

Whale observed all of this. Immediately, he laid his hand on Regina's wrist.

"It's ok," he assured her gently. Getting up, he went to Robin's side. "Hey," he whispered as carefully as possible, "I know you're upset. But she is too. And she's been through enough right now. You need to be there with her."

Robin's heart broke. Immediately he turned and went back to the bed. Gently, he folded Regina into his arms. Ignoring her injuries and soreness, she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his chest.

"It's ok," he soothed as he stroked her hair, "you can cry to me. Just let it out. You're safe here."

Whale gave them a few moments, heading into the hallway to have a brief conversation with a nurse before finally returning to the exam room.

"Regina, I know how upsetting this is, but we need to talk honestly for a few minutes."

Nodding, Regina pulled back. Her tears ran down her cheeks and she tried to wipe them away. Robin settled her firmly against his chest.

"Ok," Whale sighed, "I'm going to need to take a couple of swabs, run some tests, make sure you didn't pick up anything."

"Such as?" Robin growled. Whale hesitated, and then spoke.

"Any type of sexually transmitted disease." Regina made a choked, sobbing sound. Robin's arms instinctively tightened on her.

"Shh," he breathed, "it's ok. I won't leave you alone. Wouldn't it be obvious now to you-as a doctor-if he had something? I mean…after all those years under the curse…."

"No," Whale sighed, "Sidney may not even know he was carrying something. I'm sorry, we just don't get many rapes in Storybrooke. We have to check." He looked at Regina. "It will be quick, and painless, I promise."

"Just get it over with," Regina murmured against Robin's chest.

Whale worked quickly. He got the remainder of the cuffs removed from her wrists. Robin stayed with her as she changed out of the filthy dress she'd been in for days and into a gown. Once he had her back in bed, he tucked her several blankets over her, wrapping them around her for warmth as he could see her shivering.

A nurse came in and left a collection of items Robin didn't fully understand on a small stand beside the bed. He tried to ignore them and focused on Regina, who simply lay on the bed with her eyes closed.

Whale entered the room again. Robin watched him pick up a pair of gloves before seating himself at the end of the bed.

"Ok, Regina, let's make this quick." He flipped stirrups from the sides of the bed, causing Regina to sigh. Still having no idea what to do, Robin simply helped her as she eased down on the bed, placing her feet in them.

Regina looked up at Robin. He took her hands, squeezing both of them in his. He held her eyes, attempting to reassure her simply through his gaze. He watched her face, saw the faint flinch that crossed it.

"Squeeze my hands." He told her gently. "I'm right here." Regina's eyes fell closed again and he saw the traces of tears on her lids.

"Ok," Whale dropped a Q-tip into a plastic bottle and screwed a lid onto it. "Now we'll get you cleaned up, on some meds, and you can rest."

****Scene****

Robin watched as if in a dream while the staff attended to Regina. Whale didn't let him come as they took her for a test. She came back seemingly untouched, and just as quiet and withdrawn as she'd been before. He watched nurses clean puncture wounds with alcohol swabs. He watched Whale connect an IV into Regina's arm. The doctor offered her a plastic cup containing two white capsules.

"Painkillers." He told Robin. "They'll make her sleep. I want to make sure she's stable before we try to move her into a room."

"Why wouldn't she be?" Robin was horrified. He looked at Regina with fear in his eyes and gripping his heart. He'd saved her. There couldn't possibly be a further danger to her…could there?

"In these types of cases, you never know how someone might react." Whale cautioned. "She's been through a great deal of trauma. Anything could happen: panic attacks, drop in blood pressure or blood sugar."

"What?" Robin exclaimed.

"Robin-."

"I'm sorry." Robin hissed as quietly as he possibly could. "But you have to understand: I don't know as much about this world as the rest of you. In our land, no one understood medical problems."

"And I understand. We were all new in this world once." Whale gave him a sympathetic smile. "And it's hard to explain exactly what I'm talking about. Basically, I just want to make sure she stays calm and rests."

Robin couldn't argue that. He wanted the same. He thanked the doctor and returned to Regina's side. The nurse was finishing some final touches on bandages and wound cleaning.

"We're going to get a room set up for you." Whale assured her. "But it'll take a little while. Get some rest. We'll move you as soon as one's ready."

"Can't I just go home?" Regina asked wearily.

"Not yet. I want you on those antibiotics for a little longer intravenously. And I'll be sending you home with a prescription for an oral dose." Regina rolled her eyes, but Whale shook his head firmly before leaving the room.

Robin was absently thumbing texts to the others. Emma and Snow had both asked how Regina was doing. He'd replied back as best he knew. Snow offered to bring clothes. He agreed to that. Going to Regina's house meant leaving her here…alone.

"It's ok." He told her, securing her in the crook of his left arm. "You just get some rest."

"Don't you need to be getting home?" Regina blinked up at him. "I mean, not that I want you to go…but…."

"Shhh," Robin whispered. "The only place I have to be right now is here." He stroked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Close your eyes. Get some sleep. I'm here."

***Scene****

Robin sipped a bit of his coffee. In the bed in front of him, Regina slept. She'd slept since they'd finally gotten her settled into a room hours earlier. She'd slept all night, only waking up for a few moments. Robin himself had dozed beside the bed.

Regina stirred, shifting positions as her eyes opened. Robin watched her face grimace as she irritated aches and pains.

"Hey, good morning." He leaned forward. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," Regina groaned as she sat up. "What time is it?"

"After 8," Robin smiled as he took her hand. "Here, have some coffee." He held out the cup. Regina shook her head. "Ok."

"Can I go home yet?" Regina asked, sitting up straighter.

"Hopefully in a few hours." Robin held her hand. "But Whale wanted you to stay on the IVs for a few hours. He's sending you home with more medicine as well."

Regina frowned, but said nothing. Robin got her to drink a bit of water. When one of the nurses checked on them, she convinced some toast into her and got her started on a cup of tea. Robin watched Regina visibly perk up after getting some nourishment into her.

Regina had dozed off a second time when there was a soft knock on the door. Snow stood in the doorway, holding a tote bag decorated with a pink sparkly V and S on it that Robin didn't recognize.

"Hey." Snow whispered. "How are things?"

"Ok," Robin got up from the bed, moving to join her in the doorway. "She ate something, and I think that took all of her energy. I think she's better now though that she got something in her. It's going to take awhile for her to start feeling better."

Snow nodded, looking sadly at where Regina lay.

"I can't imagine how hard this is going to be for her. I mean, I hated Regina, but I just can't imagine…."

"I know." Robin nodded firmly. Snow looked ashamed, like she had said too much, so she stopped.

"I….stopped at the house this morning." She held out the tote bag. "I brought some casual clothes…well, at least as casual as Regina owns."

Robin had to chuckle at that as he took the bag.

"Thank you. We both appreciate it."

"Anything I can do." Snow squeezed his arm. "I have to get to the office. But when Regina wakes up, tell her I'm concerned about her."

"I will." Robin smiled as he went back into the room. Placing the tote bag on an extra chair, he resumed his place beside Regina until she woke up an hour later.

"Snow brought you clothes." He told her, stroking her hair as she lay back against the pillows.

"Great," Regina rolled her eyes. "I can't wait to see what she pulled out of my closet." Robin chuckled softly.

"I can't wait to get you home." Regina smiled, but her face looked uneasy.

"Robin…." She shook her head. "I love having you here, and you were the only person I wanted to save me, but…." Robin didn't let her finish. He cut her off with two fingers pressed against her lips.

"Hush," he leaned in to kiss her forehead, "I'll explain." At her confused expression, Robin moved to lie on the bed beside her. He wrapped one arm around her, pulling her comfortably against his chest. "The night I found out you were gone, I had come to your house to tell you that everything was over between Marian and I."

"What?" Regina sat up, an incredulous look on her face. "Robin, you don't mean you-." He nodded.

"I left Marian, Regina. For you. Actually, she told me to do it. She knew I wasn't happy either. I tried…I really tried. But we both knew I just wasn't happy anymore. It's you I love. It's you I need to be with."

Regina stared at him, and he watched her face break with emotion. One of her hands moved to rest on his cheek as her eyes welled with tears.

"Shh," Robin pulled her back down to him. "Don't cry." He pressed a kiss to her lips. "Please don't cry. You're exhausted enough and you don't need to use your energy."

Regina pressed herself against his chest. Robin held her, rubbing her back that he could feel trembling with sobs. Robin kissed the top of her head.

"I promise you," he whispered against her hair, "that I will never be away from you again. You will never cry over me again."

****Scene***

Regina had settled into his arms, and Robin had no desire to let go of her. They're been lying quietly for some time when there was a knock on the door.

"Hey." Emma looked nervous in the doorway. "Are you guys up for visitors?"

"Emma, I'm not up for conversation right now." Regina answered as Robin moved to the side of the bed.

"Not me," Emma shook her head before motioning to the hallway, "Henry."

Regina's eyes lit up.

"Absolutely!" Emma glanced at Robin, giving him a faint smile.

"Thought that might get her attention. Hey Kid!" Emma called into the hallway. "Get in here!"

"Mom!" Henry burst into the room with no regard for the other two in the room. Robin smiled contentedly as Henry threw himself around his mother. Regina hugged her son, clinging tightly to him.

Emma looked at Robin, gesturing to the doorway. Robin nodded and got up.

"How are things?" Emma asked, glancing inside. "Is she ok?"

"She hasn't said much," Robin admitted. "She's still tired. I think…probably in a bit of shock. Any sign of Sidney?"

"No," Emma sighed heavily. At that, Robin glared at her.

"If he's still out there-."

"He's not going to go after her." David appeared behind Emma. "Sidney's not stupid. But I'm surprised he was able to pull this off in the first place. Now, the last thing he's going to want is to get caught. He's probably already plotting how he can get out of town without getting caught."

"Or killed," Robin growled. Killed sounded so much better.

"One or the other," David consented. "Look, I thought I'd stop by while Emma and Henry were here. We should go over to the house and fix up a few things for Regina before she gets home. Like that broken door, and the blood in the hallway."

"You should go," Emma nodded to Robin, "Henry and I will stay with Regina."

"I don't know," Robin was uneasy about leaving Regina. She needed him. "I haven't talked to Dr. Whale today, and I don't know if she's coming home."

"You can take her home later this afternoon," Dr. Whale appeared behind Emma and David. "And she's fine. All of her tests came back negative. I want to keep her on an oral antibiotic for another couple of days just for the infection in her nails, but she'll be fine. She does need some rest, and to get some good food into her." Whale gave him a sympathetic look. "Go, Robin. Regina will be fine for an hour or so."

Robin took a deep breath nervously. What could happen to Regina with the sheriff here?

"Ok," he finally consented, "let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

The house did not take much cleaning up. David had already taken it upon himself to measure the glass in the window, and get a replacement piece that now sat in his truck. Robin had never replaced glass, but with David's help the two men were able to position and properly putty in the piece.

The broken glass was easily swept up, the furniture was set to right, and the mirror was taken down. Robin stashed it in a spare bedroom closet. Granted, the hallway looked bare without it, but he'd let Regina sort that out another time.

Afterwards, Robin took a few moments and figured out Regina's car, following David back to the hospital in it. Granted, he'd only driven a few times since he'd come to Storybrooke, but he couldn't very well let Regina walk home from the hospital.

Whale was outside of Regina's room when they returned. Immediately, Whale raised a hand.

"Don't panic, she can still go home, but we did find something minor."

"What?" Robin was suspicious of any statement that started out with "don't panic."

"It's very minor, and nothing an antibiotic won't clear up," Whale assured him. "But Regina was having some back pain we thought was just another result of the ordeal. But it worsened this morning, so I checked on a couple of things."

"And?" Robin was feeling exasperated.

"Regina has a kidney infection."

That didn't sound simple to Robin.

"Isn't that bad?" How was this man writing it off so easily?

"No," Whale assured him, "they can be serious, but we caught this one early. They can be relatively common in women. The antibiotic she was already on wasn't strong enough to take care of it, so I'll just have to switch them. She can still go home, just make sure she takes her medicines. And if she gets worse, she needs to come back in."

"Of course." That seemed sensible enough to Robin. But he did wonder just how hard it was to get Regina to take medication. He proceeded to slip passed Whale into the room.

Emma and Henry were sitting on either side of Regina. Emma immediately got up, letting Robin take her place.

"You waited until after I left for an unknown ailment?" Robin ducked his head to kiss her. He liked the way Regina smiled at him under her dark lashes. It was real….like the woman he knew was coming back.

"It's nothing serious." She assured him.

"So everyone says." Robin draped an arm around her.

"Ok, Kid," Emma tapped Henry on the shoulder. "We need to head out."

"And we're going to Mom's house, right?" Henry prompted. Emma gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, as much as I know you'd like that, your mom really needs to get some rest right now." Henry turned anxiously to Regina, giving her a look to prompt her to counter Emma's statement. Robin held his breath for a moment, but was pleased when Regina shook her head.

"You know I'd love to have you at home, but I really don't think I'm up to it today." At Henry's disappointed expression, Regina took his hand. "But tomorrow, I can't wait for you to come over."

"We'll go over first thing tomorrow morning," Emma promised him. "I'm sure your mom will be feeling better then." Regina nodded, pushing Emma's point.

"Ok," Henry finally relented. Regina reach out and tussled his hair. Henry gave her a warm smile before reaching out to hug her. Regina embraced him tightly.

"Now go on with Emma. I'll text you when we get home and situated." Henry leaned in for another hug and kiss, and then got up from the bed. Emma gave them both a quick wave from the doorway before guiding Henry out.

Robin wrapped his arm around Regina and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad you told him not tonight."

"Well, it wasn't because I wanted to." Regina leaned into him. "But I thought of all those years I didn't feel well and wished I could have a few moments piece to recuperate alone. As much as I love Henry, I finally have a chance to recover."

"Are you really not feeling well?" Robin asked, stroking her hair. Regina shrugged, making a face.

"I'm very tired. And my back does hurt. But I think I'll feel better in my own bathtub. And my own bed."

"With me," Robin kissed her cheek.

"With you," Regina smiled, lacing her fingers through his.

***Scene***

Whale disconnected the IVs and gave Regina a handful of pill bottles and paperwork before agreeing she could go.

She dressed in the pair of black cashmere slacks and the pale purple sweater Snow had brought for her. Since Snow hadn't grabbed her a coat, Robin wrapped his own around her.

"I like that color on you," he told her as they walked to the car. Regina snorted.

"I bought this sweater online three years ago. I ordered it in cream. They sent it in lavender. I waited too long to return it. I think it's hideous."

"It's beautiful." Robin pulled the car keys out of his pants pocket. Regina gave him a look of alarm.

"You're driving?"

"I drove here," Robin soothed her, "and I've done it a few times. It can't be that hard."

" _I'll_ drive." Regina reached for the keys. "You don't even have a license."

"Neither did you when the first curse hit," Robin smiled, "you figured it out. Come on, you're in no shape to drive."

"We're driving across town, not to Boston." Regina grumbled. But she gave up arguing and got into the car.

***Scene****

Robin noticed Regina tense up when they entered the house. She froze in the hallway, staring. Robin reached out, gently rubbing her back.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs, out of these clothes and into a hot bath. After that, I'll go out and get us some dinner."

"Why don't you go now?" Regina turned to face him. Robin opened his mouth to protest, but Regina shook her head. "I really don't want to be alone here after dark. Please…if you're going to go, go now and be back quickly."

Robin felt like his heart was breaking for her. His Regina-frightened to be alone in her own house.

"Ok," he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I'll be back in just a few moments." Regina nodded.

"I'll take a bath…and be in bed."

"You do that." Robin nuzzled her forehead against his own. "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't have a taste for anything." Regina answered him honestly. "I'll eat whatever you bring for me."

"Fair enough." Robin kissed her. "I'll be right back."

He left, locking the front door behind him. Regina stood in the hallway, staring into the living room as she wrapped her arms around herself.

 _She heard the shatter of glass, but he was in the room too quickly…before she could really think about it. And something, something was stopping her magic._

Regina shivered. Maybe if she went upstairs, she'd feel better. She started slowly up the staircase.

 _Her last option was running. Without magic, she had no other choice. So it's what she did. If she could make it out the front door, she was fine…._

Regina spun around, her eyes jerking to the mirror. The wall was empty. No doubt Robin's doing to keep her from thinking about it. It hadn't worked. Idly, her fingers pressed to the bandage covering the cut on her forehead.

Her legs felt weak. Maybe it was just lack of food, or fever from the kidney infection, but regardless she thought she was going to faint.

She sunk down onto the stairs, staring at the entryway. She couldn't be alone here….wasn't sure if she'd ever feel safe here again.

****Scene****

Robin entered Granny's, and felt all eyes turn on him. Most apparent was Granny, who was behind the counter.

"How's Regina?" She asked as he strolled over to the counter. Robin let his hands rest on the counter, sighing.

"Tired. Sick-literally. She has a kidney infection on top of all the other aches, pains, and general misery she's already going through." Granny winced.

"Poor thing. What can I get you?"

"I don't know. Burger and fries I guess. What does Regina usually order when she comes in?"

"Depends. She's partial to the apple pancakes."

"No," Robin shook his head. "She needs something more substantial. What else?" He hadn't eaten with Regina much, but he couldn't imagine she was big on burgers and fries. Granny considered for a few minutes.

"Well, she eats the lasagna." Robin shook his head again, more firmly again.

"No. The sauce might be too much for her stomach right now. What else?"

"Well, I guess there's the meatloaf," Granny clicked items off in her head. "Wait, she's been eating the chicken stir fry I just started making. That might be good for her."

"That sounds reasonable," Robin nodded. "Just get everything together a quick as you can. I need to get back."

"I'll do it right now." Granny gave him a reassuring smile before patting his arm. "Dessert?"

"Maybe. I don't care." He doubted Regina would eat it, and he had no taste for it. But with the boys in the house, it surely wouldn't go to waste.

"What kind of salad dressing for her?"

"I have no idea. You've been bringing her food longer than I have." He hoped he didn't come across too frustrated. Granny gave a look of acceptance.

"I'll send you both regular Italian and Creamy Italian. She doesn't always get the creamy, but it might be good right now. She needs calories."

"She will disagree." That made them both laugh.

Granny brought bags of food to him. She also placed a Styrofoam to go cup with a lid in front of him.

"What's that?" He asked curiously.

"Cranberry juice." Granny informed him. "Make sure she drinks it-no matter what." Robin snorted, holding back his laughter. He didn't know why he felt like laughing. Maybe he was finally that exhausted.

"I will. Also," Robin squinted at a shelf behind the counter, "can you give me a bottle of Sam Adam's Boston Lager?" Granny gave him a disapproving look.

"Don't let Regina have any. She doesn't need that right now."

"Oh I promise you, that's not for her." Granny laughed harder this time as she finished ringing up his order.

****Scene****

Robin let himself into the house, hands full of bags.

"Regina?" He called into the quiet house. No answer. Putting the food in the kitchen, he made his way upstairs.

He expected to find Regina curled up in bed, but she wasn't. The bathroom door, however, was closed and locked.

"Regina?" Robin knocked on the door. "Let me in."

From the other side, the lock clicked. Robin pushed it open. Regina was sitting in the bathtub that was filled with water that was coated with a fine layer of soap bubbles. Her forehead rested on her knees that were pulled up to her chest. She raised her head as he entered, her dark hair stuck to her damp face in an un-Regina-like mess.

"Hey," he sat down on the edge of the large tub beside her. "How are you feeling?" There was a collection of band aids beside him. Taking her hand, he examined her fingers. They were still red, but not the way they had first been.

"Tired." Regina pulled her hand away and rubbed her eyes She shoved her hair out of her face. Beads of water dripped from her hands and made the dark tresses along her hairline wetter.

"Then we should get you into bed," Robin rested his hand on her back. "But I got chicken stir fry from Granny's, and I think you need to try and eat some of it."

Regina stared at the soap swirling on the water's surface.

"Ok, I'll try."

"Good." Robin kissed her temple as his arm slipped tighter around her. "Then maybe we can settle down for awhile. Watch some of that show you got me into for awhile…what was it again?"

"Scandal." That got the first faint smile from her.

"Ah, right." Robin nuzzled her hair, smiling at the memory. "You get out and get dried off. I'll find you some clothes."

While Regina let the water out of the tub and dried off, Robin found a pair of pajamas with a navy tank top and navy and white checked pants in the closet. Regina pulled them on before grabbing a brush and yanking it through her tangled hair. Her hair fell almost to its normal zest.

In the kitchen, Regina's hunger got the best of her and Robin watched as she ate the salad without much thought and then started on the stir fry. For a moment, he thought of suggesting she slow down, but decided he was just happy she was eating.

"Here, you need to drink this." He pushed the Styrofoam cup in front of her. Regina arched a brow.

"What is that?"

"Cranberry juice. Granny said you need it. And did you take your medicine?"

"No, and I don't like cranberry juice unless it has vodka in it."

"Well, that certainly isn't happening." Robin got up. He found the pill bottles in Regina's purse. Placing them before her, he brought her a glass of water. "You supposedly need both."

Regina laid down her fork, strategically twisting off the childproof bottle cap. She shook one tablet into her pain before popping it into her mouth and downing it with a swig of water. She popped off the plastic cap on the Styrofoam cup and frowned as she sipped the red fluid inside.

"This is so bitter." Robin opted to see for himself. He pulled the cup over to take a quick drink.

"That is terrible. Don't think I've ever had it before. And it's supposed to help?"

"Supposedly it's good for kidney health." Regina picked up her fork again, this time to begin pushing her food around her plate. Robin allowed it for a few minutes as he finished his beer. Finally, he reached over and laid his hand over hers.

"Why don't we clean this up?" Regina looked at him. He saw a mixture of emotions on her face. He wanted to reach out, hold her. But he let her call the shots, and Regina simply got up and scraped the rest of her food into a plastic container, snapped on the lid and put it into the refrigerator.

They cleaned up what little was in the kitchen. Then Regina settled onto the den's sofa. Robin crawled on with her, using the blanket from the back of the sofa to cover them. Regina showed him once again how to work the DVR-even he had to admit he was rusty-and then snuggled into his chest. Robin wrapped his arms around her. For the first time in days, he finally felt like she was safe.

Robin woke up. He had been sleeping for an undetermined period of time. In his arms, Regina twitched. She moaned a little, jerking against him.

"Hey," Robin stroked her hair, "shush. It's ok." Regina woke up with a gasp. Neither of them had to discuss what she was dreaming about.

"It's after nine." Robin rubbed her arm gently. "We slept through dinner."

"Mm, you should eat something." Regina stretched, letting her head come to rest on the arm of the sofa.

"You too." Robin patiently nudged her. "Come on, let's go."

They ate the pie Granny had included, plus tea Regina made. She was so eerily quiet. Robin hated that. He wondered just what was going on in her head.

Regina got up from the table first. She began putting the dishes into the dishwasher. Robin quietly put the trash into the garbage can and wiped down the table and counter tops. When he turned next, Regina was leaning against the counter. Her eyes were glued to the back door. Robin knew immediately what she was thinking. Going to her, he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"More TV? Or should we just go upstairs to bed?"

"Bed." Regina rested her hands over his. Robin kissed her cheek.

"Go. I'll lock up." Regina turned, shaking her head no.

"I…want to watch."

"Well, not usually the type of things people want to watch, but all right." He gave her a quick smile as he checked the back door. Regina turned off the lights before taking his hand and following him to the other room. They turned off the TV, killed the downstairs lights, and checked the lock on the front door before they went upstairs.

As she washed her face in the master bath, Regina reminded herself that Sidney would not come into the house with Robin here. But he was out there…and not coming in didn't mean he wasn't watching the house…watching them.

Regina gasped in horror. Robin-dressed in his boxer shorts and undershirt-appeared in the doorway.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Regina grabbed a towel, pressing the rough terry cloth to her face. "Nothing."

She was lying to him. He knew that. She knew that he knew. But there were so many things that could be upsetting her, what was the point in pressing it?

Robin moved to her, laying his large hand on her back.

"Come on. Bedtime."

She went willingly, ignoring the fact that she was about to go to bed in pajamas she'd worn half the day. Instead, she simply crawled under the covers and let Robin fold her into his arms. His fingers stroked her sides and his breath was warm on her throat.

She couldn't deny that she was tired.

"I love you." He told her, kissing her cheek.

"I love you too." Regina reached for his hand, yanking it against her abdomen to lace her fingers through his. She fell asleep clinging tightly to him.

***Scene****

 _Sidney's hands were on her body. They tugged up the hem of her skirt, pushing it well over her thighs. Regina couldn't pull away, couldn't scream, couldn't defend herself. Nothing worked. She could only lie there and let him touch her._

 _He was pressed against her, his body moving in hers. Of all the things in her life Regina thought would happen to her, this wasn't one of them. She tried to pull away, but he held her tightly. His fingers were bruising her skin. She-._

Regina woke up with a small scream. She was no longer trapped in Sidney's cage. She was in her own still dark bedroom, in her own bed. Beside her, Robin was asleep on his back, but his right arm feel in the way she knew he'd been holding onto her.

She thought about getting out of bed, going and taking a shower. Maybe if she scrubbed enough, she could take the feel of his hands off of her body. There had to be a way. There had to be a way to take it away…to stop remembering how his hands felt on her….how he felt inside of her.

Her eyes fell on Robin. She supposed there was one other way she could make it stop.

Leaning down to him, she pressed her lips against his. Robin stirred awake, surprised and started to pull back. But Regina wrapped an arm around him and held him close.

"Wake up." She breathed against his lips.

"What are you doing?" He breathed back. "Regina, we shouldn't-."

"Yes, we should." Her hand slipped under the waistband of his shorts, fully encircling him.

"Regina, no." He made an attempt to push her back. "You're sick, and you're hurt, and you're-."

"Robin." Regina held his eyes. "I need you. I need this. Please. I have to get the feel of him off of me…out of me. I need to replace his touch with yours. Please."

Her fingers were moving all the while she spoke. And maybe it was just the time of day, or maybe it was just her, but his body wanted to.

Regina caught his moment of weakness and crawled on top of him. Robin gave up the fight and let his hands push up her top. Satisfied, Regina leaned down to seal her lips over his, and Robin forgot his objections.

****Scene****

They awoke to the sound of Regina's phone ringing.

"What is that?" Robin muttered, not opening his eyes or lifting his head.

"Text message." Regina groaned, forcing herself to sit up. She reached for the phone on the nightstand. "Henry wants to come over." She rubbed her eyes to wake herself up.

"Now?" Robin asked, staring up at the ceiling. He looked at his watch. It was after nine. It wasn't unthinkable company would want to come over.

"Yes." Regina stretched, and Robin took the moment to enjoy the sight of her beautiful body.

"Can he give us an hour?"

"He's a teenaged boy, he can do whatever we tell him to do." Robin had to laugh. Regina finally sounded a bit like herself. She sent the text before lying back down on the bed beside him.

"I need to shower."

"Ok." Robin pulled her head to his. "How do you feel today?" Regina weighed her choices. She was still sore, and the nagging pain in her lower back told her the kidney infection wasn't fully gone.

"All right I suppose. My back still hurts a bit."

"We probably didn't do it any good a few minutes ago…." Robin almost felt guilty. He'd known they probably shouldn't have done that. Regina reached out, laying her hand on his.

"What we did made me feel worlds better. Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll start some breakfast." Robin slipped out of bed, reaching for his boxer shorts that had landed on the floor.

"Just be careful. I know how difficult it can be going between the Enchanted Forest kitchens and here."

"Ye of little faith." Robin kissed the top of her head before reaching down to the side of the bed for his shirt. "I'm better than you think."

And he was. When Regina came downstairs fully dressed, breakfast was on the table. They ate together before Robin went upstairs to shower, and Regina loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and started it up


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This chapter has some discussions of adult themes like abortion. Know that I am not trying to make a political statement or express my opinions. I'm merely telling you all a story.**

 _One month later:_

"I'm not going." Regina was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her head in her hands. "I can't."

Robin knew she couldn't. She'd been sick all day. Horribly sick. Right now, her coloring was a greenish-white and there were dark rings under her eyes. She hadn't kept anything down-including every fluid Robin tried to get into her.

They had been supposed to have dinner with Snow, David, Emma and Henry. But when Regina had woken up sick, their day had shifted focus.

"I'll call Snow and tell her." Robin knelt down in front of her, stroking her cheek. "You try and lie down."

Regina gave him half a nod. He kissed her quickly before getting up. Downstairs, he fumbled through the keypad and dialed Snow.

"But Regina's ok?" She asked sympathetically. "I mean, it's nothing serious?"

"She doesn't seem to think so," Robin glanced back up the stairs. "I'm sure it will pass."

There was a beat of silence on the other end before Snow agreed with him that it was probably nothing serious, and then asked to reschedule. Robin told her he'd call her in the morning…when Regina was feeling better.

Upstairs, Regina was resting her head on the counter. Robin shook his head.

"Please don't tell me…" Regina nodded. "What can I do?" He turned her to take her hands. "Talk to me."

"Honestly," Regina looked up at him, "I can't even talk right now. I just don't feel up to it. I'm so weak."

She didn't look well. She was so flushed, and she seemed to be swaying on her feet. Robin was trying to ignore how worried he was.

"Ok, come on." He reached over and picked her up. Regina groaned, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"Easy. Not so quick."

"Sorry," Robin kissed her forehead. "Let's get you into bed."

He tucked her into bed before crawling in beside her.

"Maybe it's food poisoning." Regina pressed her face against his shoulder. "That can be nasty."

"Well, let's hope that's all it is." Robin nuzzled his face into her hair. "Get some sleep."

***Scene***

It had been a long month. Regina had finally been showing some signs of improvement before this ailment crept in.

In a month, no one had found Sidney. That wasn't without effort. Robin, Emma and half of the town had searched every inch of the town to find him. They'd come up empty handed. The only theories were that he'd crossed the town line (which Robin felt entirely possible) or that he was hidden somewhere magically. That also felt possible in this town.

Robin slept for a bit before getting up to clean and lock up a bit. Regina mercifully slept. It didn't last long.

He woke from sleep at 2AM with Regina retching in the bathroom. By 4AM, he knew something was seriously wrong. Regina could not keep any fluids down-including water. Still, her body tried desperately to throw up. She was crying from pain of her body trying to rid itself of something that it didn't contain. Robin knew there was nothing he could do to help her.

They were in the emergency room by 5.

Whale connected IVs without saying much. Robin could almost hear him thinking.

"What's going on?" Robin stroked Regina's hair as she lay limply on the bed. Whale ignored him, looking down at Regina. She looked uncharacteristic of the mayor/queen they all knew in the gray hoodie, black yoga pants and blue elastic band holding her hair back from her face.

"Regina, I'm going to take some blood." Whale ignored Robin's question. "That should tell us more."

He drew up her sleeve without argument. He tied off the vein. Robin watched with fascination as he inserted the needle. It made him slightly sicker to see the blood being so strategically pulled from her arm.

Robin's fingers moved to caress the tresses of hair along her shoulders. She wasn't even reaching out for him. Her arms lay across her abdomen, unmoving. Her dark eyes were only half focused on the doctor's actions beside her.

Whale finished his task. After he finished covering the puncture mark with gauze, he tugged Regina's sleeve back down.

"I'll be back shortly." He held up the vials. "This won't take long. One of those IVs contains anti-nausea medication. She should feel better once she gets some of that and the fluids into her."

When he left, Robin ducked his head to Regina's temple.

"Are you still with me?" He whispered softly. She nodded.

"Tired." Regina's eyes flickered up at him.

"I know." Robin gathered her hand to his lips. "They'll find out what's wrong with you, and get you on some medicines…and then we'll go back home."

"Mmmhmmm," Regina mumbled. Her head fell against her shoulder as she seemed to drift off. Or pass out, Robin wasn't sure. He simply didn't let go of her hand.

Whale had not been wrong: Regina began to perk up after the medicines began to flow in her system. She still looked bad, but she at least had a bit more energy.

Whale returned to the room looking serious. That bothered Robin. He sat up, leaning forward on his knees.

"What is it?" Whale glanced at him, and then to Regina. He took a deep breath, let it out.

"Regina, you're pregnant." Regina gasped. Robin was shocked. That was the last thing he had expected the doctor to say. He should be excited, correct? Then why wasn't he?

It had to be because of the look on Whale's face.

"I-." Regina sat up slowly. "Really?" Whale held up one hand.

"We need to talk about a few things. I'm going to assume that you two have…." He raised an eyebrow.

Robin watched the look of horror that settled over Regina's face. He felt it on his too. And now he knew why. Whale was implying that the baby might be….

"Yes." Regina breathed softly. And now her fingers were tightening on his hand. She wouldn't look at him. That hurt. Robin squeezed her hand tighter.

"Before….?" Whale was trying to be gentle on the topic. "Or after?"

"Both." Regina looked down at her hands. Now it was Whale who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok, that's good. That raises the chances that Robin is the father."

Regina finally turned her head and looked at him. Robin reached for her, pulling her into his arms. Regina's arms found their way around his neck and she bit back a sob.

"What can we do?" Robin asked, not letting go of her. "There must be some way…."

"I'll look," Whale assured them. "And we can do an ultrasound to see how big the fetus is. That will give us an idea."

"How did this happen?!" Regina exclaimed. "How on _earth_ did this happen? Why didn't you test me before? Why didn't you do…something?!"

"If we'd tested you when you came in, it would have been too early." Whale lowered his eyes. "And if by 'something' you're suggesting the medication…we…don't keep it here."

"WHAT?!" Regina sat up so fast Robin grabbed her back. "Why the hell not?!"

"Because there are some in this town that feel it's just a rule of this world…and one that would never hold up in ours." Whale made an attempt to explain. "So we've just never done it because it was deemed…unnecessary."

Regina was shaking in his arms. Robin rubbed her back, trying to soothe her down. But he suspected it was no use. And those suspicions were proven true when Regina pulled back to face him.

"I can't do this." She whispered, looking between the two men. "I can't have Sidney's baby."

"Darling," Robin took hold of her upper arms, "this may not be Sidney's baby."

"And chances are if you two were regularly having sex without protection it increases these odds." Whale sat down on the bed beside her in a surprisingly comforting gesture. "Regina, odds are this baby is Robin's. But we can't rule out the…."

"I know the possibility!" Regina exclaimed, yanking herself from Robin to come face to face with Whale. "I know the damn possibilities! They're all I can think of right now!"

She broke down crying, burying her face into her hands. Robin looked up at Whale. He had never in his life felt so helpless. This could very well be his child. He should have been excited.

But none of them could hide the reality that Sidney's spawn was thriving in Regina like some sort of morbid souvenir.

"This world can do so much," Robin stared at Whale, "there must be some way of knowing."

"We'll do everything we can." Whale assured him. "Regina, can I get your permission to do an ultra sound?"

"What….?" Robin shook his head. Whale shrugged.

"It's basically like taking a live video of the baby. We can see how big it is. That will give us an idea of how far along she is. I can tell you that morning sickness usually starts at about 4-6 weeks. So my guess is that you're at least that long."

That finally got a reaction from Regina. She glanced at Whale, and then turned back to Robin.

"So it's true. You and I, we might have…." Robin pressed one large hand to her head. He pulled her him, pressing his lips firmly against her temple.

"Yes, we could have. This could be our child." He ducked his forehead, nuzzling against hers. Regina nodded, one hand lifting to squeeze his.

"Hope for six weeks," she almost laughed against him.

Whale disappeared from the room. He returned a short while later with a machine on a cart that Robin didn't even bother to ask.

He carefully folded up the hem of Regina's shirt before grabbing a bottle from the tray.

"This will be cold for a moment," he applied the gel onto the smooth skin of her abdomen. Robin was content as long as Regina wasn't reacting.

Whale took a moment switching the machine on. Then he began to carefully move the hand receptor over her stomach. Robin watched the screen, fascinated. He'd never seen anything like this. And he was amazed at what he was seeing.

"Is that….?" His voice trailed off. If he called it a baby, would Regina react?

"Yes." Whale held the receptor still. "It's not a good picture. Actually, it's very hard to see. But that, right there," he pointed to the screen, "is the fetus."

Robin gripped Regina's hand tighter, not missing the fact that she was quiet. He heard her sigh heavily.

"What can you tell?" She finally asked.

"Honestly," Whale began, "not much. The image is very hard to make out. And it's…small. Very small. So my best estimate is closer to 4…maybe 5 weeks…at the most."

Regina made a choking sound that might have been a sob.

"So then?" She whispered. Whale sighed and moved the receptor again. He reached over and pressed a button the screen. Some sound came from the monitor, but nothing distinctive.

"I'm not picking up a heartbeat. So that tells me we're under 6 weeks. The heart starts to beat at 6 weeks, so we should be able to hear something then. But judging that we can't and by the size, then we have to be under 6 weeks."

Regina began to cry-again. Robin kissed her forehead. Whale was still frowning at the image on the screen.

"You two have to tell me: did you have any type of intercourse close to Sidney?"

"How close?" Regina asked softly.

"Close," Whale didn't take his eyes off the screen. "Days? Hours?"

"There were those times in the vault…before the spell," Regina looked up at Robin. They both ignored the look on Whale's face.

"And that one morning…after." Robin finally looked hopefully at Whale. Whale shook his head, frowning.

"You're not making this a bit easier." He sighed, reaching over to turn off the machine. "I'm sorry, but if that's the case, there's no way to make a clear distinction." He wiped the gel from Regina's skin with a paper towel and got up. She pulled her shirt back into place, looking intensely miserable as she did.

"What do we do?" She looked at Whale. He turned back to her, shrugged.

"I wish I had better news." He apologized. "I really do. But we can't tell, not yet anyway. Maybe once it gets a bit bigger, then we can get a better idea. Unfortunately the truth appears to be that either one of them could be the father."

Regina lowered her head, pressing her hand to her face. Whale sat back down on the bed beside her.

"Regina, I need you to listen to me. You've had sex with Robin more than with Sidney. Chances are still far higher this is _his_ baby. So what I need you to do is treat it like it is. Take care of yourself, make sure you're healthy."

Regina looked up at him, shaking her head.

"How do you just expect me to just pretend everything is ok?"

"I never said that." Whale cautioned her. "I never once said that. I understand your fear, and your hesitation. But you _are_ pregnant. And you have to take care of yourself."

Robin rubbed her back gently as Regina stared at her lap. He was so incredibly torn. If it was his baby, was he missing out on an opportunity to be thrilled? Should he try? If he pushed the topic, would Regina freak out on him?

"There has to be something you can do-medically." She looked at him. "A test. Something."

"There is one," Whale nodded, "it involves a very long needle. I personally don't know how to do it and have never done it before. So you'd have to risk Boston. And you'd have to do it without explaining to them about Sidney."

That made her fall silent. Regina knew they could do none of those things. She could not bring outsiders into Storybrooke, and she could not risk the exposure. Plus answering medical questions in Boston would be far harder.

"Can I go home?" Regina finally asked. That was a much easier topic to handle. Whale sighed.

"I'd prefer to keep you. You could use a few more hours of monitored fluids. And we don't know how you'll react when we take you off the anti-nausea medicine. And you haven't eaten anything-."

"I want to go home." Regina emphasized. "I'll be fine."

"And I'll bring her back with any setbacks," Robin promised. He thought Regina might do better at home. They had a lot to take in, and sitting uncomfortably and exhausted in the hospital wasn't helping.

Whale still didn't look pleased.

"So I'll disconnect the IVs, and let you sit for a little while. If you're still feeling ok in about an hour, you can go. I'm sending you home with some anti-nausea medication in case this comes back. There is one more thing I want to warn you about."

"Just when everything was going so fucking well," Regina grumbled. Whale ignored her.

"The type of morning sickness you had is not common. And while it might just mean that some women are more sensitive to pregnancy, it is extremely common in women who are carrying twins."

Regina's head shot up.

"Twins?! _Twins_?! You cannot be serious! I can't have _one_ of Sidney's babies-let alone two!"

"Ok, calm down." Robin put his arms around her. His own head had been swimming, but now he felt as though it had exploded. "We don't know for sure."

"I couldn't tell from the ultrasound." Whale tried to reassure her. "So it may only be one."

"No, you couldn't tell _anything_ from the ultrasound," Regina snapped. "This is not ok-not even a little. I cannot- _I will not_ -let this happen!"

Whale had never once looked pleased during this discussion. But now he looked up at one of the monitors beside Regina's bed, and the look of displeasure increased.

He got up. From the wall, he took down a blood pressure cuff.

"Work your sleeve up for me a bit." She did as he asked and Whale fastened the cuff around her upper arm. He frowned at the gage. "Ok, your blood pressure is already too high. And it's this early on. Now granted, that could be a part of your illness from last night, but we cannot run a risk this is going to be an ongoing problem."

He set to taking off the cuff, righting her sleeve.

"Listen to me," Whale moved to face her, "like it or not, you are pregnant. And you have to take care of yourself. If this child is Robin's, I would hate to see you lose it and find out the truth after."

Robin rubbed Regina's arm. It was his fear too. He didn't want to risk losing his child-if it was his child. And the idea of Regina being ill or-hurt-sickened him.

"Regina, we have to go on the assumption that this child is Robin's. You have to treat both of you like it is." Regina closed her eyes, burying her face into Robin's chest. His arms tightened around her. There was nothing he could say.

"Can I go home?" Regina mumbled into Robin's chest. Whale sighed heavily.

"I'd-."

"Please," Robin asked. "Just let us go-for now." Whale took a deep breath. Robin watched him suck it in before he let it out slowly.

"Ok, fine. But give me one hour to make sure the nausea doesn't start again."

"Fine." Robin consented.

Whale disconnected IVs as quickly as he'd put them in. He made Regina sip on a bottle of water, and then left them alone. Gently, Robin rubbed Regina's arm.

"Regina, we should-."

"At home." She told her water bottle. "We'll discuss it there."

***Scene****

Robin and Regina entered the silent house. For a moment, they just looked at each other.

"How about some tea?" Regina barely nodded, but she followed him into the kitchen when he went.

Regina sat at the table while Robin fixed mugs of tea. He placed one on the table in front of her. Regina waited while he sat down at the chair beside her.

"We need to talk," Regina wrapped her hands around her mug.

"Ok," Robin looked into his mug, "let's talk."

Regina sipped her tea quietly for a moment before she finally spoke again.

"We have to be realistic. And being realistic means facing the fact that this baby might not be ours."

Robin weighed his answer choices. He did not want to upset her again. But he also didn't want to hear this either.

"Either way," he spoke carefully, "this is your baby. And I love it."

Regina's silence spoke volumes. She sipped her tea again. When she spoke, her voice was solemn.

"But I don't. And I can't." Regina looked down at her tea. "Robin, I am not going to love this baby if it isn't ours. I can't."

She stopped. Robin waited. Whatever she was saying was clearly not going to be good.

"Robin…" Regina paused. "There's a procedure that I'd like to consider. It…ends…the pregnancy."

Robin was silent as he considered that. He didn't know anything about such things-had never even thought about them. Was she saying…?

"You mean…killing the baby."

Regina nodded without looking at him.

"Robin, I….I never thought I'd hear myself say this." She finally looked at him, and there were tears spilling over her eyes. "But I can't do this. I can't carry this baby. I can't give birth to it without knowing."

"Then we'll figure something out." Robin reached for her hands and grabbed them to his chest. "We will find something…medical…a magic…anything. Just something that will confirm if this is our baby."

"But if there's nothing we can do….." Regina choked on a sob. She tugged her hands from his to drink from her mug. She was trying to keep it together because in this moment, she did not want comfort. Her heart was already aching for what she was thinking of doing. If Robin comforted her, she would back down. And right now, she did not want to back down to anything.

Robin reached over and rubbed her fingers. She didn't look up.

"This isn't solely your decision." He breathed gently. "This might be my child…and I can't risk that it might be ours. Either way, I can't advocate killing a child. Any child."

Regina let her head fall to rest on the table. She kept the sobs that finally boiled in her as quiet as possible. But there was no being upset when Robin was around, at least not for her.

"You're in no condition right now to make a decision." He soothed as he reached out to stroke her hair. One arm moved to her, slipping around her back. "You need to think about what you're saying."

"But if it's his I don't want this to go on!" Regina raised her head. Tears coated her face so heavily it might as well have been raining. "Robin, I can't go on for another eight months not knowing who its father is."

"Ok, ok, enough." Robin reached for her. He folded her tightly into his arms, clinging tightly. "Regina, just stop for now. Stop. We can't do anything until you're calmer. We can't even work out a plan if you're this upset. So just calm down, and we'll talk more about this when you're feeling better."

Regina leaned in for him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Robin did not try to tell her to stop crying. Right now, it was the best release he could think of for her.

***Scene***

Hand in hand, Robin and Regina made their way to the Charmings' door. They were making up their dinner reservation from earlier in the week. Neither of them was looking forward to it. They'd both decided they could not deny Regina's pregnancy. Even with the medicines, Regina struggled to keep solid foods down. She knew she could not show up at the dinner and eat only chicken broth.

As soon as they let themselves in, Emma frowned from across the room. Henry was still out, and despite the fact that Roland was invited, they hadn't brought him. One unborn child was all they had the effort for right now.

"Regina, are you ok?"

Regina looked at Robin. There was no real point in trying to argue that she was, so if the secret came out now, it came out now.

"Maybe." Regina leaned against the kitchen counter. She glanced up, taking in the looks of the three in the room. Taking a deep breath, she finally responded: "I'm pregnant."

Snow gasped, and by the look on her face it was excitement.

"Oh Regina! That's wonderful!"

"Nooo, I don't think it is." Emma was watching her closely. Regina met her eyes. She didn't have to nod. A gasp from Snow told them she had figured it out too.

"Sidney," she whispered. Regina finally turned to face her, nodding.

"Yes."

"We don't know for sure." Robin's hand lay on her back. "There's always the possibility….."

"Well of course there is!" Snow exclaimed. From the way she suddenly animated, Regina knew what was coming.

"Look if you're about to start throwing around the word 'hope' you might as well save your breath."

"But Regina-."

"I mean it." Regina's tone rose. "Robin and I don't quite know….we don't exactly know…what we're going to…do."

There was silence in the room. Emma glanced at her parents. The look on Snow's face was pure and utter horror.

"Regina, you can't be thinking about-."

"Don't tell me what I can or can't be thinking about," Regina snapped harshly. "You have no idea what I'm feeling. You have _never_ had any idea of what I've been through. And that certainly plays true now!"

"But Regina," Snow whispered, her voice practically pleading, "this is your baby."

"I don't even understand how this happened!" Emma exclaimed. "Why didn't they give you the Morning After Pill or something?"

"We asked that same question." Regina leaned back into Robin's embrace. "And what it boils down to is that you can't uphold the rules of this world to a land run by fairytale characters."

They were silent for a moment. Robin hugged Regina tighter against him. Then he finally spoke.

"If we had done that, we'd be in the same position we are now." Robin solemnly stared at the floor. Regina nodded, barely conscious of the others in the room. She didn't say anything, but Robin felt as though he'd hit a nerve.

"So a test, a paternity test." Emma was keeping up with her rational. Regina rolled her eyes. What a surprise, the Savior had an answer for everything.

"Whale can't do it," Regina stood up. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hug away the cold that was suddenly overtaking her. "Not that I think I want him trying to stab a needle into me and not hurt the baby."

Emma glanced at Robin. From behind Regina, he nodded faintly. Every now and then, Regina slipped. She would make a statement that indicated she was more concerned about this unborn child than she would admit.

"Ok," Emma let it go. "Regardless, right now, you need to eat. So let's have dinner."

Robin shot Emma another look. He was glad she'd dropped it. He had a nagging hope for Regina, but it was going to take work.

***Scene***

Regina entered the house. For a moment, she simply stood in the dark entryway. Then she flipped on the lights and stepped fully inside.

Robin followed behind her, shrugging off his coat. Regina idly shrugged hers over her shoulder for Robin to hang up with his. When he turned back around, she was sitting on the stairs.

"What are you thinking?" He asked as he knelt down on the floor before her. "Regina, talk to me." He reached out to stroke her cheek lightly. "You've been quiet all night."

"What else was I supposed to be with everyone staring at me like they were?" Regina didn't lift her eyes from her lap. "It was pity. And I hate pity."

"Regina-."

"It's what it was. It's how the whole town's been looking at me." Regina finally looked up at him. "And now they have another nine months to do it." Robin ignored everything else she'd said because of that last statement.

"What?" Regina took a deep breath, let it out slowly.

"I can't have an abortion." Robin felt a surge of relief through him so powerful it almost knocked him over. He felt tears prick his eyes, but he fought them back. The last thing she needed was him getting overly emotional for her.

"What changed your mind so firmly?" It wasn't that she'd been set on an abortion. But she'd thought so heavily about it, he'd been sure it might have been a valid option.

Regina's dark eyes flickered up at him.

"Because when you said that-about the Morning After Pill-and that we'd have been in the same place as we are now," she paused. Her throat threatened to tighten up on her. "I realized that I would have spent the rest of my life wondering if I was pregnant with your child…and now I know I can't have an abortion…because I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if I'd given up our baby."

Robin smiled. Tears were still teasing his eyes.

"Regina, this is-." He stopped as her hand rose. "What?"

"I still can't raise Sidney's child," she whispered as she held his eyes. "If this baby is his, I can't keep it. I want to put it up for adoption."

"Ok," Robin took her hands, rubbing them in his. "Ok. We can look into that…if that happens."

Regina finally broke down. Her tears rolled down her cheeks as she reached for Robin. He held her tightly, rocking her against him.

What he was not saying was this: he had only agreed to this plan so quickly because he suspected-deep inside-that when Regina saw this child she would not be able to give it up…regardless of the father.


	9. Chapter 9

Regina was taking anti-nausea medication at the maximum dosage. Robin was worried because she didn't eat much. She looked thinner than normal. Dr. Whale wasn't concerned. He claimed she wasn't sick. She wasn't dehydrated, and she'd gain weight as the pregnancy progressed. He assured them both the sickness would subside as she got out of the first trimester.

Regina was sitting at the kitchen island, staring into a cup of herbal tea Robin had made her. Robin had sat down beside her with his own mug. She was hungry, and she wanted something to eat, but she had no idea what it might be. Getting up from the island, she began opening cabinets. Robin watched. Outside, rain beat down on the windows. It was a horrible night. Robin had no interest in being out in it, and he wasn't really thrilled with Roland being out in it.

"I don't want you anywhere near those women." By those women, he meant Cruella, Ursula and Maleficent.

"I have no interest in any of them-as they don't me." Regina pulled a package of cookies out of one cabinet. "Did you buy these? I don't let Henry have them." Robin looked guilty.

"I didn't let him eat them all. Roland and I helped." Regina shook her head, but put the cookies back into the cabinet.

"Regina, I'm serious." Robin brought the conversation back. "You don't need to be around them. It's not good for you-or-."

"The baby." Regina finished for him. She opened the refrigerator, staring into it. "I know, Robin. I know I'm pregnant. It's why I can't ask you to order take out even though I'm starving. It's why half of the town looks at me like I grew another head. I'm pregnant. I get it."

Robin debated if he was going to argue with her. But picking a fight with her now was not a good idea. He didn't want to argue. He didn't want her to argue.

"I can get you take out. What do you think you could eat?"

"Nothing." Regina slumped against the counter, apparently defeated. "If there was any doubt in your mind that this is Sidney's baby, this should prove it."

"How can you say that?" Robin wasn't sure he should keep going with this, but he didn't want to hear that this was Sidney's baby. She didn't like to talk about the baby. It was like a ghost in the house with them.

"Because your child wouldn't be this mean to me," Regina stroked her stomach gently. Robin sighed. He got to his feet and crossed the room to her. Gently, he laid his hand on her stomach.

"This is going to get better. Soon."

"And then what?" Regina looked away. "Then I have to get my child to Boston for an adoption?"

"Even if this is Sidney's baby, you do not half to give it up." Robin stroked her hair. "Because at the end of the day, this is _your_ baby-regardless of its father. And you and I can love it just fine."

Regina looked unconvinced. Robin wasn't surprised. She stared sadly at the floor for a few moments and then looked up at him.

"Pizza. With extra cheese. And a lot of grease." Robin arched a brow.

"You're going to be sick all night."

"I don't care." Regina told him. "It's literally the only thing that sounds appetizing right now." Robin shrugged, but did his duty and ordered the pizza in question.

***Scene***

They had set the table with plates and drinks. Robin was drinking soda, but Regina couldn't face it. She'd told him that Sidney gave it to her. He didn't push it.

Regina was sipping a glass of milk when the doorbell rang. Robin got up.

"Keep drinking that milk." He warned her with a smile. "You've kept almost all of it down." Regina shook her head, giving him a faint smile.

Robin yanked open the door, his hand reaching for the money in his back pocket. But it wasn't the pizza man on the other side, it was Snow and Charming.

"What are you two doing here?" He stepped aside, letting them inside out of the rain.

"We need to talk to Regina." Snow looked passed Robin. Robin glanced over Snow's shoulder as another figure formed on the pathway.

"It's going to have to wait until after she eats."

***Scene****

Regina had eaten half a slice of pizza. Robin was pleased.

"It's amazing what happens when you give the baby what it wants." Snow smiled. Regina glared over at her.

"You were never this miserable-with either pregnancy." Snow shrugged.

"Well, that is true. I mean, I was a little sick…every now and then." Regina rolled her eyes. She wiped grease from her fingers and put her napkin down.

"Let's get to the point of why you're here."

Robin and Regina both sat and listened to the reasoning the Charmings gave for their visit. Robin felt his eyes widening. He could not believe that he was hearing this.

"Are you both out of your minds?" He stared at them in disbelief. "You want Regina to do…what?"

"Robin, please." Snow pleaded. "We need this. We have to. Especially with Maleficent in town."

"You cannot expect Regina to do this." Robin told them. "She has been through enough. And she is pregnant. And she is-."

"Sitting right here." Regina growled. She was giving him a look reminiscent of the Evil Queen he was so familiar with. With one more glare, she turned back to Snow and Charming.

"What exactly did you two heroes do to Maleficent?" Snow looked sadly at Charming. He took her hand, squeezing it.

"Because of us, Maleficent lost her child." Robin and Regina both tensed.

"That's...terrible." Regina murmured.

"Yes," Robin nodded. "But let's get this straight: you are not ok with Maleficent losing her child…but putting Regina and hers at risk _is_ ok with you?"

"Robin!" Regina snapped.

"Regina I am sorry." Robin glared at her. "But I do not want you and the baby at risk. There are days you are too weak to be mayor of this town, and they want you to infiltrate villains that may want to destroy this town."

"I'm sorry." Snow shook her head. "But this is the only way we could think of."

"It's not happening." Robin told her flatly.

"I'll do it." Regina answered. Robin glared at her. Snow shook her head.

"Regina, this is why I've been so adamant about you keeping this baby. Maleficent wanted hers…and we were going to give it back. But it got sent through the portal…and we realized it was just a baby we'd taken from its mother. It wasn't evil, it was just a child. Your baby…regardless of who its father is it is just a baby. A baby who needs its mother."

Regina's jaw set. Robin knew this was a bad angle to push with Regina. But maybe, just maybe, this would push Regina off from Snow's mission.

"Save it." Regina answered, annoyed. "You want my help, I'll do it."

"Why?" Robin asked. "Why do you have to do this?"

"Why does it matter to you?" Regina exclaimed. "You're not my keeper."

"Ok, we need to go." David got up, tugging Snow's hand. "Come on." Regina glared at Robin, but turned towards the door.

"I'll show you out."

Robin heard a few muttered good nights as the other couple left. But he was angry. He just didn't understand why she needed to make this leap. This situation had nothing to do with her….with them.

Regina stormed back into the room. Robin braced himself for the inevitable fight.

"What gives you the right to tell me how to live my life?"

"What gives me the right?" Robin got to his feet. "I have the right because like it or not, you may be carrying my baby. And I don't want my baby to become a casualty of Maleficent!"

"I knew that's what you cared about!" Regina hissed. "More concerned about this child that may not even be yours-."

"You know that is not true!" Robin couldn't believe this argument was actually taking place. Was she actually saying these things to him? "Regina! Listen to yourself! The first thing I said as that this was a risk to you! You are pregnant! And sick! You don't need to put yourself through this stress!"

"You have no right to tell me that I can't get involved!" Regina screamed at him. "I am very capable of taking care of myself-I always have been!"

"But you haven't been pregnant before." Robin lowered his tone, trying to ease the tension in the room. "The Evil Queen didn't destroy entire villages while she was weak from morning sickness and carrying a baby." Robin took a step towards her. "Regina, sweetheart," he took her hands, "please relax. You've had high blood pressure since we found out you were pregnant. This isn't going to do you any good. And my greatest fear is anything happening to you." He lifted her hands to his mouth, kissed them. "Darling, please. For me. For Henry. Don't do this to yourself."

Regina closed her eyes. She hated herself for yelling at Robin. She loved him so much, and he was the last person she wanted to take out her bad mood.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Robin reached forward, folding her into his arms.

"Pregnancy isn't easy," Robin smiled, stroking her back.

"No, it isn't." Regina admitted. "But I'm still doing it."

"Regina!" Robin sighed in exasperation.

"Robin," Regina stepped back, "if I don't do this, we don't know what could happen to the town. Maleficent could be dangerous. Especially if she's lost something precious to Snow and Charming."

Robin raised his fingers to stroke Regina's hair.

"I'm afraid for you…and for your baby." Regina sighed heavily.

"We will be ok. I promise." Robin leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.

"I'll help. As much as I can. Just…for added protection." Regina shook her head.

"You think they won't suspect something if they see you running around behind me?"

"Regina, I'm a thief. I have years of experience of not getting caught. Trust me."

Regina sighed. Leaning up, she kissed him.

"Ok."

Regina entered the diner. She was fighting how weak she felt. It had been a bad day for pregnancy. Even with the anti-nausea medicine, she hadn't eaten much today. And she was tired-but that was probably was from lack of food as much as pregnancy.

"So you are back from the ashes." It was hard to pretend to care one way or the other about the three villains when her brain was racing from her own issues. Not to mention the horrible stench of oil overpowering this place. She reminded her unborn infant that they could not throw up now.

"What do you want, Regina?" Ursula didn't even bother to turn around.

"She's here to try and convince us that she's still one of us." Maleficent didn't look up from the table. "But ignore her, she has nothing to bring."

"Excuse you," Regina stormed over to the table. It didn't take much to annoy her these days. "What gives you the right to make that statement?"

Maleficent finally lifted her blue eyes to Regina's face. Slowly, she rose to her feet, coming face to face with Regina.

"Do you want to know why I have no interest in you?" Maleficent asked boredly. "Because I could see it on you as soon as you walked in: you're pregnant. And you're no use to us pregnant."

Regina took a step back. She hadn't thought about Maleficent being able to use her powers to pick that up.

"That has nothing to do with-."

"That has everything to do with it." Maleficent gave her a dark look. "I'm not dealing with a pregnant woman-for a number of reasons. And I'm not dealing with the Daddy. I'm sure your thief is lurking right outside…just waiting to attack anyone who comes near you and his baby."

Regina frowned, turning her head so they wouldn't see the uncomfortable look on her face. She didn't want them knowing that Robin was most likely not the baby's father-at least in her mind.

"Well, well," Cruella swept to her feet, "there's something interesting. I don't think she knows who the daddy is."

"That is none of your business." Regina turned to face her. But Maleficent chuckled.

"Is that true, Regina? No idea who the little one's father is? Never took you for the sleep around type."

Regina had thrown the older, more powerful witch against the wall before any of them could blink. And faster still, she was over the other woman with a fireball in one hand.

"I will kill you for a number of things." Regina growled, raising the ball. Maleficent rolled her eyes. Regina watched as the ball in her hand disappeared and she found herself unable to move.

"You'll do no such thing." Maleficent rose to her feet. "Because you can't. You might stand a chance if you weren't expecting, but that baby is slowing you down."

Maleficent took a moment dusting herself off before she waved her hand, releasing Regina.

"Now get out of here. I don't want you or your baby." Maleficent moved passed her to sit back down at the table. "And whatever you were thinking of doing: it won't work. Go somewhere and worry about your baby."

The last statement was said with a bit of sadness. Regina wanted to say what she was thinking, but knew now she was wasting her time. Sighing, she turned to sweep out of the diner.

"What happened?" Robin met her at the edge of the path. "I was about to go in but-."

"Wouldn't have mattered if you did." Regina rubbed her abdomen. "Maleficent figured out I was pregnant and wanted no parts of me. I can't infiltrate them."

"Are you hurt?" Robin asked as they moved down the street.

"No," Regina sighed, "I'm all right. And I don't think she'd hurt me with the baby."

"Then what was all that fighting about?"

"She…." Regina hesitated. "She made a comment to me about who the baby's father was."

Robin sighed. He stopped walking and reached for Regina. Regina let him hold her. Her head rested against his shoulder for a long moment.

"You can't lose your temper. It isn't good for you health-wise."

"I know." Regina sighed. "And I didn't mean to…but." Robin raised one finger, laying it on her lips.

"Let's go home. You need some rest."

She didn't argue. She let him take her home. There, she made and ate two cups of pasta without sauce or any other type of topping. It was the most satisfying meal she'd had in days.

***Scene****

Early the next morning, the doorbell rang. Regina was still in a pair of pajama pants and a fancy cashmere baseball jersey she never left the house in, but wore regularly around at home because it was secretly her favorite.

For a moment, she debated not answering the door, but decided whoever was on the other side was getting what they deserved for showing up unexpectedly. She was a mess. Robin had gone to see Roland, and Henry had left for school. She'd only thrown up twice this morning and had kept down most of a cup of tea. Yanking her hair into a messy ponytail, she opened the door.

Maleficent stood on the other side. She raised a brow at Regina's appearance.

"Pregnancy does not agree with you."

"If you're knocking on any pregnant woman's door at 8:00 in the morning, it won't agree with any of them." Regina growled, stepping aside so the other woman could enter. "What do you want? If this is about last night-."

"It's not," Maleficent turned, "it's about you. Why don't you know who the father is?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you." Regina turned, heading back into the living room.

"Something's going on with you. Being protective of your child, I can see that. But you were furious. And don't think I didn't notice all of the protection charms on this house. What are you doing? What's going on?"

"Why do you care?" Regina sat back down on the couch, taking another sip of her cooling tea.

"Because someone needs to be more protective of that baby. And judging by your actions last night, you clearly aren't."

Regina clicked her teacup down on the coffee table.

"Do you want to know what happened?" She snapped as she stared at the other witch. "Almost two months ago, I was kidnapped from this house- _from this very room_. After that, I was locked in a cage for three days where a man tortured and raped me. And then, a month later, I found out I was pregnant. So if you're wondering why I'm not happy about being pregnant-there's a reason for you."

And then the response Regina hadn't expected happened. Maleficent's eyes widened in horror.

"And you're just sitting in this house?!" She moved to stand in front of Regina. "Who was it? Who touched you?" Regina rolled her eyes.

"Sidney Glass. You may remember him as my Magic Mirror."

"That ungrateful bastard." Maleficent spat. "Where is he? I hope the Thief killed him. Or he's locked in some basement cell of his own."

Regina held up her hands.

"Sorry to tell you: no one has any idea where he went. They think he may have cross the town line. If that's the case, he's gone."

"That's bull shit!" Maleficent snapped at her. "They let a man who raped a woman escape?"

"There is nothing anyone can do if they can't find him," Regina exclaimed. "And I can't do anything."

"Well, I'm not denying that." Maleficent was pacing now. "Pregnancy isn't something to mess with. How are you feeling?"

"Why do you care? About any of this?" Regina slumped back against the sofa.

"Because I don't support rape." Maleficent stopped pacing to stand in front of her. "And because I too have a soft spot for children. How are you feeling? If how you look is any indication, it must be terrible."

Regina groaned. She wasn't entirely certain she wanted to have this discussion with anyone. She raised one had to wearily rub her eyes.

"I'm nauseous most of the time," she admitted. "It's not as bad as it was when I found out, but I'm still so incredibly sick."

"You need mint," Maleficent advised. "Peppermint, spearmint, doesn't matter. Just get it into you."

"What?" Regina lowered her hand to look at the other woman. "Why?"

Maleficent heaved a sigh that was obvious displeasure.

"You lived in the Enchanted Forest long enough to know some herbal remedies. This world is lovely for most things, but sometimes the other ways work best. And since this world is _clearly_ failing you, it's time you get back to your roots."

Regina groaned, letting her eyes close.

"I can't," she grumbled. "Not when it could be…. _his_ ….child in me."

"Bull shit you can't," Maleficent's hand had grabbed hers before she knew what had happened. "Now you listen to me," the witch glared at her, "you need to stop thinking of this baby as _his_ and start accepting it as _yours_. It doesn't matter who the Daddy is, it took your body just as much effort to make this baby as his-if not more. So you need to snap out of it and start acting like its Mama."

Regina glared at her irritably.

"You have no right-."

"I don't care." Maleficent stood up. "Someone needs to snap you out of this fun."

"And you've decided it should be you," Regina leaned back on the couch. Her throat tightened. She silently willed herself not to throw up again.

Maleficent sat down on the coffee table in front of her. She gathered both of Regina's hands into her.

"Now let me put this into perspective for you," she stroked Regina's hands, "you have a man who adores you. A strapping, handsome young son. An adorable little stepson-and a baby inside of you. If any of us have won, it is you, my dear. You have a life we would kill for-finally acquiring your happy ending all on your own."

"I got my happy ending through rape." Regina met the other woman's blue eyes. "How is that a happy ending?"

Maleficent lowered her eyes. Regina finally saw the deep sadness in them.

"If I could get my child back, I wouldn't care what means I had to go through." She tightened her grip on Regina's hands before yanking hers back. Regina looked down at her lap.

"I'm….sorry."

"Then act like it." Maleficent got up. "Don't take for granted a child you've been given. Do that for all of us who lost children for reasons beyond our control."

Maleficent got up, starting for the door. Regina followed her. Maleficent turned.

"I hate to say it, but I envy you."

"Don't." Regina whispered. Maleficent gave her a faint smile.

"I don't have many friends in town…or at all. So if you want to talk…I'll listen." She pulled the door open.

"Thank you." Regina murmured as the other woman stepped outside. She watched her move down the walkway until she disappeared into thin air. Regina pushed the door closed, locked it.

She caught a whiff of a candle sitting on the hall table. The sweet scent of gardenias made her gag. Her stomach rolled. Regina pressed a hand over her mouth as she ran into the downstairs powder room.

***Scene****

Regina took a shower, brushed her teeth, and fixed her hair. She got dressed and applied a little makeup. She still felt nauseous, but it was getting better.

She started off into the forest. At Robin's former camp, he was playing with Roland. Roland spied her first through the trees.

"Regina!" He yanked away from Robin and ran to her. Regina smiled, reaching down to embrace him. She didn't let him climb up her like he tried. She'd given up on that since she found out she was pregnant. That was for two reasons: one because of the obvious lifting, and two because of the nausea that had plagued her.

"Well, this is a surprise." Robin smiled as he approached them. "When I left, you looked like death warmed over." Regina stroked Roland's hair, drawing him against her.

"I'm feeling a bit better. I…had a visitor after you left."

"Oh did you? Who?"

"Maleficent." Regina looked down at Roland, checking to see if he reacted. Robin frowned, looking her over.

"Well, you look like you survived without too many scratches."

"It was…odd." Regina glanced past Robin as Little John approached them, with Marian at his side.

Regina tensed a bit as she saw Marian. Robin had legitimately left the other woman, but it didn't make the situation that much less awkward.

"Marian, Little John." Regina forced herself to smile as Roland slipped away from her and back to his mother. Marian smiled, slipping her arm around his shoulders.

"Regina….I hear congratulations are in order." Regina felt herself flinch, but she held back.

"Thank you." She forced a smile onto her face. She felt Robin rubbing the small of her back. "Ah…Marian, I have a question for you."

"Oh?" The other woman looked surprised. Even Robin looked surprised.

"When you were….pregnant…what did you take for morning sickness?"

"Oh, I didn't have any." Regina was surprised how firmly the other woman answered, and she didn't miss the look of confusion on Robin's face. "But I know some women drank mint in their teas."

"Someone else recommended that," Regina nodded. She glanced at Robin, who was watching Marian with a strange expression. "Are you ready to head back into town?"

"Y-yes." Robin reached down, took Regina's hand. "Let's go." He smiled at Marian. "You can bring Roland by tonight."

"I hate to put more pressure on your house right now." She gave them both a sympathetic look.

"No, it's no trouble." Regina assured her. "We love having Roland in the house." She tugged Robin's hand. "Let's go. I want to stop in town and pick up some tea."

When they reached Regina's car, she finally turned to him.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Robin leaned on the hood of the car. "Do you want me to drive?"

"No, I'm fine." Regina opened the driver's side door. "Robin, what's wrong?" Robin shook his head. His face was folded in a mask of confusion.

"Marian said she never had morning sickness with Roland…but she was horribly sick-most of the pregnancy. How on earth could she have forgotten that?"

Regina didn't have a clear answer. She couldn't deny that was strange. In twenty years, she would still remember how sick she had been during this pregnancy.

"Maybe it was all the magic she's experienced lately." Regina shrugged. She was sorry she didn't have a better answer. Robin looked at her.

"Do you believe that?"

"It's the best answer I have." Regina told him honestly. Robin nodded grimly.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Right?"

"Of course." Regina smiled. "Come on. Let's go into town. I've got to find mint-somewhere."

"You're really taking others word on this?" Robin climbed into the passenger seat.

"I'm out of options," Regina started the car. "This baby is going to kill me."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews/follows/favorites. Also, this story is finally organized and cleaned up, so it's much easier to read.**

 **If any of you are looking to read some more of my work that is not content fitting for this site…check out the Archive of Our Own (AO3) site. Over there, I've got some EvilCharming work, some MadQueen work, and some GoldenQueen works. I also have another OutlawQueen story there, but I'll put it back up over here soon. Same username: TaylorKing**

Robin was picking up groceries. He'd managed to keep Regina out of the mayor's office. Truthfully, he did not like her there. She did not deny that she spent at least an hour every afternoon with the door locked, lying down.

Despite her condition, he couldn't keep her home either, that would undeniably drive her crazy. He felt it was better for her mental state to stay occupied rather than sit at home and think.

She had not quite warmed up to the baby. She still flinched a bit when he mention it, or tried to touch her stomach. He was trying not to focus on the fact that she was going to have a baby eventually, and not that there was one now growing inside of her.

"Robin!" A voice called over to him. He turned. Little John was crossing the street to him. "Hey, do you have a minute?"

Robin chuckled to himself. He had a pregnant, irritable girlfriend at home as well as a small son and a teenaged stepson. He had very few "minutes" in this world.

"Sure," he sighed, "what is it?" He told himself he was doing it because he still had to make time for his best friend, even with the new life he had. When really, all he wanted to do was go home, put groceries away and check to see if Regina or Henry had run the dishwasher.

"I wanted to talk to you about, um, Marian." Robin closed his eyes. Why on earth had he agreed to this conversation? If he was about to be lectured on leaving Marian, he was not going to be pleased.

"What about her?" He asked evenly.

"Well, I just…" Little John hesitated. Robin wanted to shove him just because. He reminded himself that was partially because he was tired. "Well, I just wanted to know if it would bother you if she and I…."

"If you and she what?" Robin asked suspiciously.

"If maybe…." Robin now wanted to drag the words out of the other man. "If…maybe…Marian and I decided to…see each other."

Robin's jaw fell open. That's what this was about? Little John wanted Marian?

"I, uh-." He'd never even thought about this. He knew he did not want Marian. He wanted his life with Regina and the children. Little John was looking at him expectantly. He was waiting calmly for his answer. Robin owed him one.

"I, I guess that's all right." Little John looked relieved.

"Good. I mean, I just never know if it's ok to date someone else's ex-especially their wife. I know in this world they're a lot pickier about that…. But you and Marian-." Robin held up his hand.

"Marian and I had a wonderful life, but it's over now, and when I lost her I moved past it. I want to be with Regina. What I have with her is right, real. I want her, and the boys, and the baby. If you and Marian can be happy together, then good. I'm…glad for you." Little John grinned. Relief was evident on the other man's face.

"Thanks! I appreciate that! I mean it-truly. I'll see you later, ok? Maybe we can get a drink one night?"

"We can do that," Robin opened the car door, settling the groceries into the back seat. He didn't have any interest in getting together with Little John,. Maybe once the baby was born, things would settle down a bit.

***Scene***

When Robin got home, Regina was unloading the dishwasher. He looked at the faint curve that was visible through the dress she was wearing. When she looked up, he smiled.

"How was your day?" Regina shrugged.

"I think the nausea is fading. I went all day without feeling horrible." Robin laughed.

"Well good." He put the bags on the island and moved over to kiss her. "I had an…interesting…meeting with Little John today."

"Oh?" Regina snapped the dishwasher shut. "What was it?"

"He asked me if I was okay with him dating Marian."

"What?" Regina stared at him. "Really?"

"That's what he wanted." Robin put the milk into the refrigerator.

"And what did you say?" Regina turned to watch him. Robin hesitated. He stopped folding the bag he was holding.

"I told him that was fine."

"And is it?"

"Of course it is, why?" He didn't like how she was looking at him. He was also wondering why she was pushing these questions.

"Well, I mean, she's your ex wife and he's your best friend." Robin wondered just what she wanted him to say. He also wondered if he was about to say the wrong thing.

"They've known each other for years. And he's already like an uncle to Roland. It will be good for all of them-all of us, really."

Regina looked at him seriously for a long moment. Robin arched a brow.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Regina sighed, leaning back against the counter.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Am I sure about what?" Robin reached for her. Her face was now showing that she was crossing into upset. He pulled her tightly to him, nuzzling her cheek. Regina held herself back at arm's length.

"Are you sure you want me? Are you sure you don't want to go back to Marian?"

"Where is this coming from?" Robin cupped her face in his hands. "Regina? What brought this on?"

"I don't know," Regina wiped her eyes. "You have to be miserable with me. I'm pregnant, and I'm moody, and gaining weight…and we haven't even had sex in months. Not to mention that I was raped. And I'm depressed half the time and-."

"Ok, would you stop?" Robin lowered his face to hers. "Please. Regina, when I feared I had lost you, I couldn't think of anything else. Now, you and I are together. And no, things haven't been ideal, but they're going to pass. We are going to get through this. You are going to have this baby, and we are going to set out with our family. Together."

Regina wiped her eyes with her thumbs. She shook her head, ducking it away from him.

"I'm sorry. I'm just sorry."

"You don't have to be," Robin kissed her forehead before lowering his to rest against hers. "I don't want you beating yourself up over every little thing. You don't need to be carrying around all this guilt."

Regina sighed sadly. She sniffed again, fighting back tears.

"I don't know what to do with myself."

"Have you thought about talking to someone?" Robin raised a hand to stroke her hair. Regina took a deep breath, finally lifting her head to look at him.

"You mean like Archie?"

"I mean like Archie." Robin rubbed her cheek. "Regina, you need to talk to someone. And as much as I try…I can't help."

"Doubt he can either," Regina muttered. At Robin's look, she conceded a little. "But it wouldn't hurt to try."

"No, it won't." Robin pulled her to him. "I love you, Regina. I hate seeing you unhappy. I'll do whatever it takes to try and fix that."

"I love you too." Regina pressed her face into his shoulder, inhaling his scent. She did love him, and she loved what he wanted to do for her. She also loved that he hadn't run from her with the fresh baggage she carried. He was truly more than she deserved.

**Scene**

Sidney had always considered himself a good person. He'd always seen himself as a victim. But when he'd taken the steps to control his own life, he knew he'd made himself a bad person.

He was a kidnapper now, and a rapist. He'd truly never thought about upgrading to murder. At most, he was simply going to dump an injured Regina into the forest to hope for the best. If she died, that would probably have been murder. But she wasn't dead. She was undoubtedly safe in Storybrooke with the thief wrapped around her little finger.

Even from Boston, he was annoyed with her.

But he was out of Storybrooke now, and wouldn't be making his way back. He knew he couldn't get back into town. He was fine with that. He also knew that most of the people in Storybrooke weren't adventurous enough to cross the town line-even to avenge their queen. He had no doubt he was safe here.

Prostitutes had existed in the Enchanted Forest. Here they were equally as fun. He'd also learned enough about computers in this time in Storybrooke to master the world of identify theft. He guessed he could add that to his list of crimes. People in this land were careless with their money. They left wallets unattended, and cash even moreso. He was going to be all right.

***Scene***

"So do you want to talk about this?"

"I'm here aren't I?" Regina looked across the room at Archie. The doctor looked her over.

"I thought maybe…"

"That I'm here because Robin decided this was a good idea? That's true too." She had no idea how well this was going to work. But she was going to try…mainly because if this failed she could say she could literally say she'd covered every option. That way everyone would finally get off of her back.

"So tell me what brought you here," Archie looked at her. "Do you want to talk about-?"

" _No_." Regina glared at him. "I do not want to discuss Sidney…or…how this child may have been conceived."

"Ok," Archie looked a bit hesitant. Regina didn't blame him. She wasn't an easy patient or case to treat. She knew she wasn't making things any easier. "So you tell me then. Talk to me." Regina sighed heavily.

"I'm holding what happened against the baby," Regina told her hands in her lap. "I know it's not the baby's fault. But I'm holding it against it. Even if…" She paused. Archie gave her a moment before pressing gently.

"Even if?"

"Even if it's Robin's baby. And what if it _is_ Robin's baby? That poor child was with me through…." Regina choked on her tears. Archie reached over and handed her a tissue. Regina wiped her eyes. Her tears were threatening to overtake her.

"The idea," she finally began, "that Sidney put not only me but my baby in danger….." She began to cry into the tissue. Archie gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I don't think the problem is that you don't have an attachment to your baby. You clearly feel something for it. Would you say it scares you?"

"The baby?" Regina raised her head curiously. "I suppose that might be…part of it."

"Does any other baby scare you?" Regina wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"No, of course not."

"Why not?"

"Because they're babies, how could they?"

"Exactly." Archie was smiling at her in a way that told her she'd said exactly what he'd wanted her to say. Regina sighed.

"But this baby-."

"The baby's father is the one who scares you, Regina. And whether you want to talk about it or not, we need to tackle that."

Maybe they did. Maybe she needed to talk to someone who had a real idea that could make her feel better.

"Ok," Regina answered irritably, "let's talk about Sidney."


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: I could offer the 10,000 reasons as to why the update for this story took so long. The best one is that I lost a good portion of it in a computer crash a few months ago. I did, however, find a good portion of it. With the exception of the last half of this chapter and any of the next chapter._

 _3 months later-_

Regina had been talking to Dr. Hopper twice a week. She wasn't sure how much it helped. She did not want to talk about Sidney, or about the rape. But she did want to talk about the baby. Now at five months along, she was trying to accept the child as hers- _trying_ being the optimal word.

Robin believed that as soon as she saw the baby, she would love it. Emma had assured her if she had held Henry, she would never have given him up. She was certain that if Regina held her baby, she wouldn't be able to either. So she was insisting that she would not allow Regina to give up her baby without holding it.

That was all assuming that the baby was not Robin's. Regina hoped upon hope that she would give birth to a blonde haired, blue-eyed child that she could not deny was Robin's.

But that posed another problem. She had spent five months afraid of this child living inside of her. So if it came out to be Robin's, she would not have bonded with it. She had talked to both Dr. Whale and Dr. Hopper about it. Both feared she was right: that she would have issues with bonding with the baby that could lead as far as post partum depression. Regina didn't want to lose her chance at happiness with a baby she'd wanted with a man she loved. She wanted nothing to destroy this moment if this was Robin's child. So she had to do everything she could to save it.

"I just can't stop thinking that it's Sidney's child." Regina was holding her head in her hands. "I know that's terrible…but still."

"Regina, it's not terrible. It's understandable." Dr. Hopper assured her. "But the point of our sessions is for you to think beyond the father. You have to see this little boy or girl as yours. Don't connect with Robin by thinking of it as "ours". Think of it as yours. Your baby that you're going to raise with Robin. Just like Henry."

Regina looked down at her hands.

"I know. And I understand that. But-."

"Do you think this has anything to do with the fact that they have never caught Sidney?"

"Maybe." That did bother Regina. It bothered everyone. But Sidney was apparently long gone. Everyone agreed that if he was still in town, he'd have been caught and strung up by now. Given his illusiveness, it made sense that he'd crossed the town line and sought his freedom in the real world. Regina had to admit it sounded like Sidney.

Archie settled himself back onto his chair. He flipped through some notes from past sessions. Regina waited.

"What about the shopping we discussed? Did you try…buying things for the baby?"

"No…" Regina answered. "I've thought about it…but I…."

"Can't." Archie finished for her. "Regina, that seems to be our problem here. You hold yourself back. You're here because you don't want to be unhappy…but you always manage to stop yourself from being happy." Regina stared at the light coming in through the blinds.

"Much like when I didn't go into the tavern."

"Much like that," Archie agreed. "Regina, you have to let go of your fears. It's the only way you're going to bond with this child."

"But…" Regina lowered her eyes. "What if-."

"Regina." And she looked up to see the serious expression on his face. "It's not his-it's yours."

***Scene***

She was going to do it. She was going to shop for baby things. Clothes, little shoes, blankets, everything. She was going to do it.

Regina made it as far as her car before she stopped. She didn't know if she should buy boys' clothes, or girls' clothes. She could simply buy yellow, or green. She hadn't thought about what she wanted. Boy or girl? She had a boy…and she loved him. So another one would be easy.

But a boy might be like his father. Regina shuddered. Nausea tightened her throat. She could be carrying another Sidney right now. This child could be born preprogrammed for kidnap and rape to get what he wanted. _Her_ son could be that type of person.

It was worse than having a child with Leopold.

Regina pressed her hand to her mouth, doubling over against the car as she feared she was about to throw up.

"What's wrong?" A woman's voice spoke beside her. Regina lifted her head, saw Maleficent standing beside her. Worry was written all over the other woman's face.

"Nothing." Regina whispered, staring down at the blackness of the car's hood. "Nothing."

"Lies." Maleficent caught Regina's hand. "Look at me." Regina barely raised her head. "What's happened to you? Is it something physical? Are you in pain?"

"No," Regina lowered her head again. "Just…nauseous."

Maleficent yanked open the car door.

"Sit." She pointed. "Before you pass out."

Regina didn't argue. She sat. Her head went down, resting in her palms. She tried to take deep breaths, but her throat still felt tight.

"I can't breathe."

"You can breathe." Maleficent's hand rested on her back, and Regina was suddenly glad for the company.

"No, I c-."

"Yes, you can." Maleficent's hand began to stroke. "Nice and slow, Regina."

Regina squeezed her eyes closed. Maleficent was right, her throat wasn't as tight as she thought. Slowly, she lifted her head.

"That's better," Maleficent patted her shoulder. "We need to get you home."

"Can you drive?" Regina lifted her head. Maleficent chuckled. Regina suddenly found herself standing in front of her house.

"Come on," Maleficent extracted Regina's keys from her hand to unlock the door. She led Regina inside, immediately guiding her to the living room sofa.

"Sit. I'll make you some tea."

Regina stared at her hands as she heard Maleficent in the kitchen. She squeezed her fingers together. Inside of her, Sidney's son could still be thriving. Letting out a whimper, she pressed her hands to her temples.

"What's wrong?" Maleficent placed the tea on the table in front of her. "Drink this. Now."

Regina picked up the cup. She took a sip.

"If the baby's a boy, it could be another Sidney."

"Not it if it's Robin's. Drink more tea."

"But it might _not_ be, that's what no one ever accepts!" Regina exclaimed. "Everyone is so content to tell me how it's mine, or Robin's, but at the end of the day-it _might_ be Sidney's!"

Maleficent sighed. She took the teacup out of Regina's hand. Reaching for her, Regina was momentarily shocked when the other woman drew her close in a hug.

"Regina, regardless of who the baby's father is, you need to calm down." Regina let herself sob against Maleficent's shoulder. It was a scene past Regina had never seen coming.

After a few moments, Regina felt Maleficent's arms tighten on her.

"I understand. You're scared. And none of the rest of us truly understand how frightening this is for you."

"No one does," Regina sat back, wiping her eyes. "No one understands what I'm going through. Everyone just tells me how I _should_ be feeling rather than understanding how I am feeling-even that damn cricket!"

"That's our fault," Maleficent handed the teacup back to Regina. "Do you want to talk about it?" Regina shrugged.

"That's really all there is to say. I mean, what else are people supposed to tell me?!"

"We can't tell you anything." Maleficent tucked some of Regina's hair behind her ears. "I guess we're all so focused on the baby….we've put your thoughts behind us."

" _I_ should be focused on the baby," Regina drank some of her tea. "What am I going to do if this baby is born and it's Robin's? How horrible have I been to it?"

"Your baby will never know what you have or haven't done." Maleficent smiled. "All it will know is that you love it. That's what you need to do. You can't keep putting all of this guilt on yourself. That's adding to your stress."

Regina nodded, taking a small sip of tea.

"I know all the things I'm doing wrong."

"Then stop focusing on them." Maleficent took one of her hands. "Just focus on taking care of yourself."

Just then, the front door opened.

"Regina?" Robin called as he entered. He turned, saw the two women, and gasped. "What happened?!" Robin ran into the room. He half pushed Maleficent out of the way as he dropped down beside Regina. "Archie called me because he said you looked sick."

"Regina had a bit of a panic attack," Maleficent got up. "I'd see if she will lay down for a little while." Regina opened her mouth, but Maleficent waved her away. "Keep me posted, Regina. I'll talk to you soon."

As soon as the other woman was out of the door, Robin spun.

"What did she do to you?"

"Nothing," Regina whispered. "Nothing. She was just there when I…." Regina didn't know what she'd done. "Regardless, it wasn't her fault. You shouldn't yell at her."

Robin didn't say anything. He simply knelt before her, taking hold of her hand.

"Drink some more of your tea," he encouraged gently. "I just want you to calm down."

Regina did, but simply stared at the floor for a moment.

"I had a panic attack."

"I figured as much." Robin rubbed her hand. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Regina nodded slowly.

"I was thinking that if the baby is a boy…" She swallowed hard, finally looking up to meet his eyes. "If the baby is a boy, it could be another Sidney. And it wouldn't matter how we raised him, he'd turn out just like his father."

For once, Robin spared her the lecture of how it might be his child. He looked at her seriously.

"So, are you saying that if it's a boy…." Regina closed her eyes.

"But if we don't raise him, he'll be dumped on some other poor unexpecting family."

Now Robin was confused. He thought he'd been following, but now he was lost.

"So you'd want to keep him?"

"I don't know." Regina opened her eyes, finally meeting his. "But I do know that if we know, it'll make the decision easier." Robin squeezed her hand, giving her a firm nod.

"Ok, so we'll find out."

"We'll find out." Regina responded, keeping her eyes on him. "And then, after we find out, we'll make a decision….once and for all."


End file.
